Mayawati treating political rivals as gangsters: Amar Singh

Lucknow, Oct 8 (UNI) Opposition Samajwadi Party today charged Chief Minister Mayawati with treating political rivals as gangsters.

Talking to reporters here, SP general secretary Amar Singh said political parties may have differences over several issues. ''But in Uttar Pradesh the Opposition is being treated as a rival gang...as if we are gangsters and she is the mafia queen out to eliminate us,'' he said.

He claimed that during her previous regime, Ms Mayawati had imposed over 100 fake criminal cases against former Chief Minister and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav. ''When she was in the Opposition, she talked of sending us to jail,'' he added.

The SP leader, while referring to the police recruitment scam, said, the claims of the probe committee that women candidates were sexually exploited in lieu of jobs was in bad taste. ''The irresponsible statement has damaged the reputation of several girls ...now no one would marry them and they would not be treated with respect they deserve,'' he said.

He said the recent advertisement in newspapers asking police recruits to file their complaints on an affidavit was aimed at maligning the Samajwadi Party. ''You (the media) would perhaps get a sensational story in the process. But it will damage the reputation of a few,'' he claimed while referring to the allegation of sexual favours.

Commenting on the recommendation of narco test for a politician and some police officers involved in the recruitment scam, he said probe committee chairman and additional director general of police (ADGP) Shailjakant Mishra should also be made to go through the same to verify whether he had prepared the report under pressure of his political masters.

Mr Amar Singh also targetted another officer, Vijay Shanker Pandey, for toeing the line of the state government in nailing the SP leadership. ''A person against whom CBI and vigilance probes are pending is part of almost all the probes constituted by the present government on the decisions taken by the previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government.

UNI