BSP demo turns felicitation ceremony for bee-tamer Maya

A minister went so far as to proclaim that the bees did not sting anyone because they accepted Mayawati’s supremacy. Another said the Opposition conspiracy to cause a stampede at the rally fell flat when the bees,instead of stinging anyone,simply welcomed Mayawati and settled on the rooftop.

The other highpoint of the rally was PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui’s display of photographs of Opposition leaders accepting currency garlands and expensive items,purportedly downloaded from the internet.

Among these was a photo of Sonia Gandhi purportedly wearing a garland of 1,000-rupee currency notes,of L K Advani being offered a crown and of Mulayam Singh Yadav being presented with a silver sword.

Mayawati had asked her partymen to organise protests across the state on three issues — the sudden appearance of honeybees at the party rally,the controversy over the currency garland and filing of two PILs in the Allahabad High Court to stop the rally — as evidence of the Opposition conspiracy to derail the celebration of 25 years of the party’s foundation.

As the protests were held,she hopped into a helicopter for an aerial view of the hotspots — including Lucknow,where all important party leaders had gathered.

On the ground,meanwhile,Urban Development Minister Nakul Dube said the honeybees accepted Mayawati’s supremacy and did not harm anyone at the rally. The Opposition should also accept it and reconcile to the fact that Mayawati is going to be the prime minister.

“People like you and me would have got scared after watching that huge swarm arrive before us,but not Mayawati,” he said.

Likewise,party MLC Gopal Narayan Mishra blamed the “cheap tactics” of the Opposition and praised Mayawati for keeping her composure in face of the bees.

Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Das exhorted the gathering to just think of the consequences “had they (the opposition) succeeded in their tactics” to cause a stampede.

The last word was left to Siddiqui,who said the conspiracy fell flat when the honeybees “welcomed her (the CM)”. “They flew to the dais and then took shelter on the roof,” he said.

Opposition bristles at Maya counter-sting
LUCKNOW: Opposition parties lashed out at the BSP for releasing photographs of its leaders donning currency garlands and gold crowns,describing it as a “futile bid” to justify the presentation of a multi-crore garland to Mayawati at the party’s ‘maharally’ here. “Sonia Gandhi does not require anyone’s certificate as all are aware that she is in public life neither for power nor money,” said Congress leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh. BJP

state unit president Hriday Narain Dixit said the two things (crown for L K Advani and Mayawati’s currency garland) cannot be compared. SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said people know that through the garland,BSP leaders had tried to convert their black money into white. PTI