Pal’s widow vows to take fight ahead

Mere pati ko Mulayam ne markar mujhe do lakh mein kharidene ki koshish kari. Maine rupaye muh pe maar diye.Till last week, her’s was th...

Mere pati ko Mulayam ne markar mujhe do lakh mein kharidene ki koshish kari. Maine rupaye muh pe maar diye.

Till last week, her’s was the picture of a sobbing woman being consoled by BSP chief Mayawati. But today, 25-year-old Pooja Pal, widow of BSP MLA Raju Pal, says she will cry no more.

Pooja set the stage on fire with her maiden speech on Wednesday at the BSP rally and is all set to enter the political arena now, with Mayawati giving her the go-ahead to contest from her husband’s seat.

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Pooja and Raju Pal got married on January 16 this year, nine days before he was gunned down in daylight, allegedly at the behest of his political rival. ‘‘Raju and I were childhood friends and grew up together. He had told me that we could tie the knot once he defeated Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed’s brother from the west Allahabad seat,’’ said Pooja, adding that Pal defeated him in October last year but asked her to wait for a few months as he feared ‘‘a grave danger to his life from Atiq’’.

There were three attacks on Pal’s life before the fatal one on January 25. ‘‘On December 28, he miraculously survived bullets in Newan. After that, I told him, we should get married no matter what. Nine days later, he was gone,’’ she said.

‘‘What’s worse, the police cremated him without even allowing anyone see his face. I suspect they only burnt wood and disposed of the body somewhere to destory evidence,’’ she alleged. Mayawati met the family on January 27 and handed Rs 5 lakh to Pooja, promising her an MLA ticket to ‘‘take forward her husband’s fight’’. It was a day after that Mulayam announced Rs two lakh for the family.

‘‘The Allahabad District Magistrate came with the money but I threw it back on his face. I told him to bring my husband’s body instead. Mulayam snatched away my husband and now wanted me to accept his money to keep quiet. Mujhe paise nahin mere pati key asli kaatil chahiyen,’’ said Pooja, at the same time questioning Mulayam’s intention of not recommending a CBI probe. ‘‘He knows his government will sink if CBI steps in,’’ she supplies the answer.

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Given her maiden 15-minute speech before a crowd of several thousands on February 2, political observers feel she is cut out for the politician’s role. ‘‘I went to the rally as Mayawati asked me to. My husband is gone but his death will not go wasted…Mulayam has to go,’’ said Pooja, who now has been provided six guards for her security.