Mayawati calls sacking of UP ministers 'mere drama'

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, on 13 September termed the sacking of two ministers on corruption charges by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as "mere drama", and said that it will not rescue the Samajwadi Party in Assembly polls due early next year.

"The sacking of two ministers just before the Assembly elections is a mere drama and it will not help the Samajwadi Party, which is neck deep in corruption," she said in a party release.

Mining minister Gayatri Prajapati and Panchayati Raj minister Rajkishore Singh were dropped within a span of an hour yesterday.

Mayawati said corrupt ministers had enjoyed the "patronage" of senior SP leaders and now after "indulging in malpractices" for four-and-a-half years, sacking is only an eyewash to project SP government as just and honest.

She said there is no "dearth of corrupt ministers" in the state with almost "all ministers" facing such charges and several of them facing probes.

"The lokayukta probe against some of them have been kept pending," she said, adding the government has used all its means to ward off CBI probe in serious corruption cases.

Mayawati also criticised SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav's assertion that he was not in the know of sacking of ministers saying it was the "effort of father and son to keep the ills of SP government under wraps but people now understand all this very well."

She claimed that during her government, she had promptly recommended a CBI probe and dismissed the ministers concerned on complaint of irregularities.

She alleged that the SP government had shown laxity in dealing with corruption cases as was the case during the previous Congress government at the Centre and the present Narendra Modi government because of which no "decisive" action has been seen in Vyapam, Lalit Modi, and Vijay Mallya cases.

--PTI