Bhatta Parsaul: Mayawati hits back at Sonia, Rahul

Stung by the frontal attack launched by the top Congress leadership against her, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has hit out at both Congress President Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul.

Cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh read out a five-page exhaustive issued by her in this regard here on Friday evening, replying to allegations leveled by the Congress leaders in Varanasi over two successive days.

Rubbishing the charges of  "rape of women" and  "indiscriminate killing of farmers" by the UP police, Singh told a press conference, "The chief minister is shocked at the baseless and false accusations made by the top Congress leadership, whom one expected to display some responsibility.

"Before levelling an allegation such as rape, these senior leaders ought to introspect that they were also the maligning women of the area," remarked the chief minister, while seeking to know, "How would they feel if such allegations were leveled  against their own sisters or mothers?"

Refuting Rahul Gandhi's charges of "burning bodies of farmers gunned down by the UP police," Mayawati sought to clarify that the ashes have been confirmed as ashes of cow dung cakes.  

"We had sent samples of the ashes to the Central Forensic Laboratory in Agra and we have received a confirmation that those did not contain any human remains," the statement read.

"We had sent the samples to the forensic lab essentially to find out if some explosives or detonators were used by mischief mongers, who used the garb of farmers to create trouble in Bhatta Parsaul village of Greater Noida with the intent of defaming the state government. But while that part of the report was still awaited, the CFL scientists gave their opinion on the human ash and bones," it said.

Accusing the Congress of playing "cheap politics" in the name of farmers' cause, the UP chief minister challenged the Gandhis to take up the cause of farmers in other parts of the country.

"If these top Congress leaders were truly so concerned about the farmers' well-being, why don't they go to  Maharastra, where farmers were being blatantly deprived of their rights and harassed in the name of setting up of a nuclear plant at Jaitpur or the creation of an international airport near Mumbai ?" it said.

"The Congress campaign in the name of farmers in Greater Noida was a total farce. It was simply aimed at tarnishing the image of the Bahujan Samaj Party government. There were no farmer issues in Bhatta Parsaul at all, and the situation in the much hyped village was absolutely normal," it alleged.

As for Sonia's charge about "prevailing anarchy" and "poor law and order" in the state, it said, "BSP was the only government that has the distinction of ordering stringent action against it sown ministers, members of Parliament and members of legislative assembly in case they were found to be involved in any criminal activity. You can see how we have never hesitated in sending such element straight behind bars."