10-17-2008, 12:29 AM
Is Lalu responsible for Mayawati-Sonia face-off?
It was Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's mischief which triggered the face-off between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Defying protocol, Lalu completely ignored Mayawati and refused to invite her for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the rail coach factory at Rae Bareli, which happens to be Sonia's constituency.
The event was to take place on October 14. According to sources, Mayawati waited till all the invites were sent out by the railway ministry. The advertisements also appeared in the newspapers, announcing the ceremony. They had prominent pictures of Lalu and Sonia, and not even a reference to the chief minister of the state.
This was it! Mayawati pulled the plug by cancelling the land allotment for the factory two days before the event, claiming that it were the farmers who were opposed to it.
Had she been invited, Lalu would have had to put Mayawati's name above his own on the plaque commemorating the foundation stone laying ceremony. The chief minister of a state gets precedence over a union minister in order of precedence as per the protocol. Also, going by the book, it was imperative for Lalu to invite the state chief minister.
Sources said that Lalu was aware of it but he intentionally decided to keep Mayawati out of the picture. It was not merely an unintended slip on his part.
It was Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's mischief which triggered the face-off between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
Defying protocol, Lalu completely ignored Mayawati and refused to invite her for the foundation stone laying ceremony for the rail coach factory at Rae Bareli, which happens to be Sonia's constituency.
The event was to take place on October 14. According to sources, Mayawati waited till all the invites were sent out by the railway ministry. The advertisements also appeared in the newspapers, announcing the ceremony. They had prominent pictures of Lalu and Sonia, and not even a reference to the chief minister of the state.
This was it! Mayawati pulled the plug by cancelling the land allotment for the factory two days before the event, claiming that it were the farmers who were opposed to it.
Had she been invited, Lalu would have had to put Mayawati's name above his own on the plaque commemorating the foundation stone laying ceremony. The chief minister of a state gets precedence over a union minister in order of precedence as per the protocol. Also, going by the book, it was imperative for Lalu to invite the state chief minister.
Sources said that Lalu was aware of it but he intentionally decided to keep Mayawati out of the picture. It was not merely an unintended slip on his part.