PSO stoops to clean Mayawati''s shoes, opposition slams CM

Auraiya (UP), Feb 8 (PTI) A personal security officerof Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati touched a new lowwhen he bent down to wipe her dusty shoes with hishandkerchief during her visit to the district.

The incident took place on Sunday when Mayawati wasvisiting Naunipur village in the district.

On noticing her dusty shoes after alighting from achopper, PSO Padam Singh, who has been working with her forlong and was close to BSP founder Kanshi Ram, started cleaningher shoes.

The shoe-wiping continued for some time even as thechief minister spoke to district officials who had convergedon the tarmac to welcome her.

Singh, a retired police officer currently onextension, supervises the personal security of Mayawati,sources here said.

Opposition parties have slammed the "feudalistic"attitude of the chief minister.

"The manner in which the chief minister is behavingand working is shameful and a security personnel wiping hershoes is a deplorable incident," SP state president AkhileshYadav alleged.

He said that it was a sad to see that a personentrusted with the security was wiping Mayawati''s shoes.

"If this government continues then even the officialswill have to do the same act," he alleged.

"She is starting new traditions in politics. Firstshe got her statues installed now this shameful incident hascome to the fore. This is a feudalistic attitude," Yadav said.

Slamming the chief minister, Congress spokesmanAkhilesh Pratap Singh said, "Mayawati, who rode to power byclaiming to fight against feudalism, has adopted the sameculture after becoming the Chief Minister".

"Getting shoes wiped by a government official is wrongand the security personnel should not have done such an actfor the sake of self-respect," he said.

However, the BSP said nothing much should be read intothe incident.

BSP MLA Nawab Seyd Kazim Ali said, "I don''t think thisis really an issue at all because the chief minister never...Idon''t think she asked to security officer to clean her shoesor anything and this is something which is a non-issue if ahandkerchief falls and if somebody picks it up and so youcan''t make that into an issue".

"If I go in to a village and there is a puddle ofwater and If I step into the puddle of water, the people ofthe village, somebody will come and clean my shoes," he saidasking as to why everybody was "gunning" at the chiefminister.