11-12-2006, 06:10 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>No bhaichara without maya </b>
IANS/Pioneer News Service | Lucknow
<b>BSP boss seeks 25k per Brahmin unit</b>
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has her own inimitable way of buying loyalty of her supporters. On Saturday she blatantly put a price tag to insure loyalty of Brahmins.
<b>"Each of the Brahmin societies set up in the 403 Assembly constituencies of the State must shell out Rs 25,000 as gift for my birthday that is traditionally celebrated as fund-raising day for the party,"</b> Mayawati told a convention of Brahmins called by the BSP.Â
That it would be a straight quid pro quo was clearly spelt out. "Let me assure you that I do not believe in just using you as a votebank. <b>When I come to power I will see to it that you get an appropriate share in governance,"</b> she said.
Explaining her demand for gifts on her birthday (January 15) every year, Mayawati said: "Ours is not a party funded by affluent industrialists or business houses. We have to depend on contributions made by our own supporters.
"I am not asking you to give me gold, silver or diamonds, just give us some cash so that we can run the party and take it ahead. After all when all other communities under the BSP umbrella voluntarily give donations, why should Brahmins lag," she added.
The BSP boss has formed bhaichara committees in every constituency, which will promote Brahmin-Dalit harmony. The real purpose of this social axis is to create a new electoral equation for the widening of the BSP's support base.
<b>The Brahmin vote in Uttar Pradesh is up for grabs after the virtual exit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the political scene in the state</b>. Also, the Congress ruled for decades using Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim equation and Mayawati has set sights on a similar combination.
<b>Only a day earlier, Mayawati had rubbed the Muslims up the wrong way by saying they liked fanatic leaders</b>. Realising her folly, she called a press conference late in the night on Friday to issue a clarification. She denied having said that all Muslims are fanatics.
<b>She had said earlier in the day that Muslims liked fanatic leaders. What made matters worse was her added remark: "That is why I told BSP voters to even vote for BJP since we were not contesting civic elections in the state." </b>The remarks led to loud protests in Meerut where Muslims took to the streets and burnt effigies of Mayawati.
In a damage control exercise, a visibly jittery Mayawati pleaded before the media that she had been misunderstood. She chose to read out a prepared release that said: "Some TV channels have been projecting that I have referred to Muslims in general as fanatics but that is not true." About transferring her party's votes to BJP, she sought to clarify: "All I said was that I asked my party supporters to vote for the strongest candidate against the wife of minister Haji Yaqoob Quraishi because he was trying to vitiate the atmosphere by fuelling fanaticism."
She added: "<b>In the Lucknow Mayor's poll we transferred our BSP vote to the Muslim nominee of the Congress because the independent whom we had extended support got sold to Mulayam (Singh Yadav) and we were determined to ensure the defeat of the Samajwadi Party. I have always considered Muslims as a part of Bahujan Samaj."</b>
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IANS/Pioneer News Service | Lucknow
<b>BSP boss seeks 25k per Brahmin unit</b>
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has her own inimitable way of buying loyalty of her supporters. On Saturday she blatantly put a price tag to insure loyalty of Brahmins.
<b>"Each of the Brahmin societies set up in the 403 Assembly constituencies of the State must shell out Rs 25,000 as gift for my birthday that is traditionally celebrated as fund-raising day for the party,"</b> Mayawati told a convention of Brahmins called by the BSP.Â
That it would be a straight quid pro quo was clearly spelt out. "Let me assure you that I do not believe in just using you as a votebank. <b>When I come to power I will see to it that you get an appropriate share in governance,"</b> she said.
Explaining her demand for gifts on her birthday (January 15) every year, Mayawati said: "Ours is not a party funded by affluent industrialists or business houses. We have to depend on contributions made by our own supporters.
"I am not asking you to give me gold, silver or diamonds, just give us some cash so that we can run the party and take it ahead. After all when all other communities under the BSP umbrella voluntarily give donations, why should Brahmins lag," she added.
The BSP boss has formed bhaichara committees in every constituency, which will promote Brahmin-Dalit harmony. The real purpose of this social axis is to create a new electoral equation for the widening of the BSP's support base.
<b>The Brahmin vote in Uttar Pradesh is up for grabs after the virtual exit of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the political scene in the state</b>. Also, the Congress ruled for decades using Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim equation and Mayawati has set sights on a similar combination.
<b>Only a day earlier, Mayawati had rubbed the Muslims up the wrong way by saying they liked fanatic leaders</b>. Realising her folly, she called a press conference late in the night on Friday to issue a clarification. She denied having said that all Muslims are fanatics.
<b>She had said earlier in the day that Muslims liked fanatic leaders. What made matters worse was her added remark: "That is why I told BSP voters to even vote for BJP since we were not contesting civic elections in the state." </b>The remarks led to loud protests in Meerut where Muslims took to the streets and burnt effigies of Mayawati.
In a damage control exercise, a visibly jittery Mayawati pleaded before the media that she had been misunderstood. She chose to read out a prepared release that said: "Some TV channels have been projecting that I have referred to Muslims in general as fanatics but that is not true." About transferring her party's votes to BJP, she sought to clarify: "All I said was that I asked my party supporters to vote for the strongest candidate against the wife of minister Haji Yaqoob Quraishi because he was trying to vitiate the atmosphere by fuelling fanaticism."
She added: "<b>In the Lucknow Mayor's poll we transferred our BSP vote to the Muslim nominee of the Congress because the independent whom we had extended support got sold to Mulayam (Singh Yadav) and we were determined to ensure the defeat of the Samajwadi Party. I have always considered Muslims as a part of Bahujan Samaj."</b>
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