In a bid to send a strong message to the Bharatiya Janata Party against interfering in the internal affairs of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati withdrew security cover provided to BJP leader Kalraj Misra with immediate effect.
"I have been given security cover for last 17 years when the BJP was not in power. Security varied from time to time depending on the threat perception. But suddenly, the last of the gunman left my residence on Saturday morning. I keep on travelling and hence my life is constantly in danger. While the chief minister is asking for increase in her security, she removes the security of her opponents," Misra said.
Sources indicated that Misra has been asking Brahmin's elected on BSP tickets to revolt against Mayawati.
BJP spokesperson Rajeev Pratap Rudy also launched an attack on his Congress counterpart Abhishek Manu Sinhvi for rubbishing the Election Commission notice to Sonia Gandhi for accepting an award from the Belgium government.
"We would like to know how many countries Gandhi is citizen of?," Rudy asked.
He blamed the Manohan Singh government for failing to deal with the naxal problem effectively. "The government has failed to curb insurgency. Fourteen persons, including policemen, were killed in the latest attack by naxals," he said.
Rudy also clarified that his party's prime ministerial nominee L K Advani had never praised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on liberalisation.
"It was a process that was started by late Prime Minister Narsimha Rao with Dr Singh as the finance minister in his cabinet. Some newspapers have incorrectly carried the report that Advani praised Dr Singh.," he added.