Cong: Mayawati helped BJP turn Varun arrest into grand event

NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday slammed the Mayawati government for being hand in glove with BJP, saying that permission to Varun Gandhi
to make
a spectacle of his arrest with a procession in Pilibhit reflected an understanding between the two parties.

AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters that it defied logic why the UP administration let Varun Gandhi turn his surrender in Pilibhit into a public event when it knew that the drama was aimed at creating religious polarisation.

"We have all along said there is close liaisoning between BSP and BJP, and this episode has proved it again,"
said Singh, AICC incharge of UP. Singh said, "If the administration was serious, it could have picked up Varun without the fanfare."

Saying that Varun's politics over religion was reflective of the larger BJP gameplan to communalise elections, Singh said there should be strong action against Varun for the venom he has spewed against Muslims and Sikhs.

Congress leader Veerappa Moily dismissed apprehensions that the Pilibhit episode would benefit BJP. "Every drama has a period and it sours after that. This one has a life of a day. We will let it die its natural death," he said.

CPM too expressed "grave concern" over clashes between BJP supporters and thepolice during Varun's arrest. "The big mobilisation in Pilibhit, the forcing of confrontation with police, rousing passions by rabble-rousing are clearly BJP's campaign strategy," politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.

Yechury added, "Communal polarisation is part of their vote consolidating mechanism. It shows that they have no other issue to garner votes."