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."

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Congress needs grassroots leaders, not TV faces: Akhilesh

he SP is locked in a battle with the BSP for supremacy in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's son and two-term MP, Akhilesh Yadav, has been campaigning in the state for more than a month. Rustam Roy of Timesofindia.com caught up with Akhilesh on the campaign trail. Excerpts:

Q: Looking back at your first two terms in the Lok Sabha, what did you learn from them? Who inspired you the most in the Lok Sabha?

A: In politics you learn a lot. In the last two terms I had the responsibility of my party and the youth wing. I had to build the youth organization, so I couldn't devote much time in the Lok Sabha. I was mostly travelling around Uttar Pradesh, but still managed to raise questions in Parliament. This time I would devote more time in Parliament.

Q: What was your most memorable moment in Parliament?

A: Lots of things happen suddenly, just like during the nuclear deal trust vote. Many MPs spoke during the trust vote but Omar's speech stood out. I was in the House, I was in fact sitting just behind him and somebody from another party had managed to provoke him, so he gave a great speech. The words came from the heart for his country. It was a great speech. By the time my chance came, money was on the table and it all went haywire.

Q: Akhilesh, now several months later, the SP is at loggerheads with the Congress. You have almost moved towards a divorce.

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Murder taint on AGP-BJP nominee

GUWAHATI: In the mudslinging game, each party is trying to score more points than the other. And why should the ruling Congress be left behind?
Firing a salvo at the AGP-BJP combine, chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday said the coalition is fielding a candidate who has been chargesheeted in a murder case.

However, Gogoi refrained from naming the candidate. "Let them (AGP-BJP) deny it first, then I will name the nominee who has been chargesheeted in a murder case," he said, while underlining the Congress policy of keeping tainted persons away from contesting elections on the party's ticket.

In the same breath, Gogoi stressed that the two Independent legislators, Jiten Gogoi and Kushal Duori, against whom arrest warrants have been issued for their alleged vandalism inside the Kaziranga National Park, are absconding. The two MLAs support the Congress in the House and their respective Assembly constituencies are segments of Koliabor and Jorhat parliamentary constituencies.

Gogoi said their arrests would not have an impact on the Congress fortunes in these two Lok Sabha seats. "Lok Sabha elections are different and the view points of the same set of voters differ in the case of Assembly and parliamentary elections. I don't think their arrests would have any negative impact on the Congress," he added.

There is a common feeling among people that the two MLAs are still evading police action as they are in positions to influence their voters, at least in Assembly constituencies, which might hamper the Congress.

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