UP: Akhilesh offered Rs 100 cr for RS ticket, alleges Mayawati

Lucknow, Nov 5: BSP supremo Mayawati today alleged that Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Das, who had quit the party two days ago, offered her Rs 100 crores for renominating him to the Upper House. "Akhilesh Das had talked to me in Delhi and had offered money for repeating him as BSP candidate to the Rajya Sabha," she told reporters here.

"Das had said that he was ready to give Rs 50 crores to Rs 100 crores for getting Rajya Sabha ticket saying that as the BSP is out of power now, I would need funds to run the party," Mayawati alleged. The BSP supremo said she told Das that she would not make him RS candidate even if he offered Rs 200 crores and instead of taking help from an individual, her party gets funds through donations made by poor and the downtrodden.

"For the recent Assembly elections and the coming ones in two other states, funds were collected from the people in Uttar Pradesh and other states on one appeal," she said, adding that BSP would give its ticket to those who work dedicatedly for the party's movement at the ground level. On the allegations levelled by Das, Mayawati said "he was earlier in the Congress and at the time of joining BSP he had levelled serious charges against the Congress, specially Rahul Gandhi." The former UP chief minister said that at the time of joining BSP, Das had promised to strengthen the party by garnering support of Vaishya community in the state but he did not do so and concentrated more on his business work.

"We believed in him and sent him to the Rajya Sabha but he did not live up to his promises...rather that joining Vaishyas with the party he used to stay away from the House during the Parliament sessions," she alleged. Mayawati said that Das's allegations have been proved wrong with the party nominating Raja Ram and Veer Singh for Rajya Sabha seat as they have been associated with the party at the ground level.

"Ram is incharge of the party in four states and Veer Pal is incharge in three states...they have been associated with the movement for a long time and have been using their salaries for the welfare of people," she said, adding the central office of the party will assist them in filing their nominations. The Rajya Sabha term of Das, who resigned from the BSP on November 3, is coming to an end this month.

PTI