Lucknow: Rejecting the demand for a CBI probe into the murder of a PWD engineer in Uttar Pradesh allegedly by a BSP MLA, Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday strongly condemned what she claimed to be a mischievous campaign" by the Opposition to defame her government by linking the killing to her birthday celebration.
To counter the campaign, Mayawati told reporters here that her party would observe her birthday on January 15 by organising huge rallies across the state against the Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party's "wrong doings" during their rule in the State.
"Where is the need for a CBI probe when the state police, on my orders, have arrested all the accused in the case," Mayawati said at a crowded press conference a day after PWD engineer M K Gupta's murder - allegedly by BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari - shook the state.
Quoting preliminary investigation reports, the BSP chief said it seemed that the prime cause of the murder was a tussle over the issuance of PWD contracts among the employees of the department.
"The charges against my party MLA will be probed. He has already been arrested and sent to jail. No other party has ever taken such stern action against their own members," she said.
In reply to questions, Mayawati acknowledged that the legislator, Tiwari, earlier belonged to the Congress party and "had a criminal past".
"When he wanted to join our party, we asked him about it. He said he was framed by the opposition parties. So, we told him to prove his innocence through his actions after he joined our party. We told him 'you will have to prove through your work'. Strict action will be taken if you are found to be doing the same things, we also told him. And we took strict action against him yesterday," she said.
Claiming that BSP had restored law and order in the state which was in shambles in the past, Mayawati said bureaucrats and engineers used to live in an atmosphere of fear when Samajwadi Party ruled the state. "Corruption and criminalisation of politics had become chronic then."
She said it was "criminal and highly condemnable" to link the engineer's murder to her birthday celebrations and alleged fund raising for that occasion.
Mayawati also charged the media with carrying out the Opposition's campaign "without any evidence" and said "if you have proof, those can be investigated. But if not, then you should apologise."
Describing the incident at Auraiya as "tragic", Mayawati blamed the Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party for trying to take "political mileage" out of it, instead of condoling along with the grieving family.
Charging the Congress-led UPA, supported by SP, and the BJP-led NDA with being "the epitome of corruption", she said these opposition parties were so perturbed over their shrinking mass base, that they had no other issue against the BSP government but to link the engineer's murder to her birthday celebrations.
The Chief Minister accused the opposition parties of "dancing to the tunes of corporate houses and big business" and framing policies according to their diktats.
"The UPA Government's policies are made in the drawing rooms of corporate honchos. The stories of corruption of Samajwadi Party are on the lips of every citizen. Therefore, these parties should not open their mouths," Mayawati said, adding that these parties had been thoroughly exposed among the masses.
The BSP supremo said she had asked all her party legislators and MPs not to collect any fund for the upcoming general elections. "This job will be done by those in the party organisation," she stated.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh said, "Mayawati is trying to eliminate Samajwadi Party workers and crush our agitation. She accepted her MLA's role in the PWD engineer's killing. She has also accepted that she takes money from the public."
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