BJP assails Mayawati's birthday culture

New Delhi, Feb 19 (UNI) Calling it ''feudal ways'', the BJP today criticised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's ostentatious celebrations of her birthday last month and termed it as nothing but an instrument of ''self-praise''.

The party's mouthpiece 'BJP today', in its editorial comment titled 'New Culture : private birthday at public cost'' said the UP Chief Minister left one in doubt that she was not the leader of the poor but of ''rich sycophants''.

''What message is she sending to the people by celebrating her birthday by cutting cakes and blowing out candles in a country where happy occasions are observed by lighting fireworks and not extinguishing burning lamps by the leader who boasted of her ideology 'Sarvajana Hitaya Sarvajana Sukhaya','' the organ said.

The BJP observed that in earlier days, society used to celebrate the martyrdom days of great men and women who sacrificed everything for the country and society.

''Celebrating birthdays of celebrities is nothing new. But the way the government was made to 'crawl' on the occasion with people in pain, putting on plastic smiles on their faces is something that is not healthy for the state and the country.

In our democracy, a CM is not a special individual but a mere head of the Executive who is not above the constitution or the law,'' the party said.

Taking a swipe at former UP Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the paper said the previous regime in that state was also doing the same. But the difference was that the BSP chief was criticising the ways of ''tyrannical duo'' -- Mr Mulayam Singh and Mr Amar Singh, the paper said.

''But when Ms Mayawati is at the helm of affairs, indulging in misuse of public money is nothing short of a political crime and treachery with people who reposed trust in her,'' the paper added.

The party observed that it was with this sense of ''vulgar display'' of arrogance that 'Sushri Mayawati' had said that she would always keep the BJP in the ready to kick position -- ''tip of her shoe''. She must remember that the arrogance and hot-headedness had never paid off.

UNI MCN/KAS HS PM2010