Training his guns simultaneously at social activist Anna Hazare, Bharatiya Janata Party and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh on Sunday sought to pep up the morale of his party men, 135 of whom have been awarded tickets for the forthcoming 2012 election to the 403-member UP state assembly.
Accusing Anna of "secret RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) nexus", charging BJP of "double-standards" and describing BJP as a "party with too many PMs-inwaiting", he termed Mayawati as the "an epitome of corruption".
Singh, who has of late been referred to as Congress party's "loose cannon", was addressing a press conference at the state Congress headquarters in Lucknow.
Flaying Mayawati for rampant corruption in the state, Singh threatened to expose the bungling under her regime. "We are preparing a chargesheet against Mayawati and we will expose her misdeeds at a public rally in Lucknow around February," he said.
Criticising her for installing her own statues in Lucknow and in Noida, Singh said, "Mayawati has set a new convention of putting up statues of living persons and that too with government money, which was highly objectionable."
He said, "What's worse is that the tax-payer's money was used to erect statues of Mayawati's family members too."
He hastened to clarify, "Let me make it loud and clear that we have nothing against installation of statues of dalit icons, but surely Mayawati is not entitled to be erecting her own statues or that of her kin at state expense."
While he went on repeatedly citing the letter of support sent by a senior RSS leader to Anna as "evidence" of the activist's RSS connection, he was at his wits' end when a scribe asked him whether there was any proof of Anna accepting the alleged support.
Singh was further dumbstruck when another reporter drew his attention to the contradiction in his allegations about Anna's RSS nexus and the attack on Anna's close compatriot Prashant Bhushan by RSS connected goons.
However, while referring to the Lokpal Bill, he gave a categorical assurance, "The bill would be passed during the coming winter session of Parliament."
Raising questions against BJP veteran L K Advani's much hyped yatra against corruption, Singh sought to charge Advani of "gross double standards." According to him, "When BJP has people like Bangaru Laxman, who was caught accepting bribe on camera, and Yedurrappa, who had to eventually go to jail because of his corrupt activities, Advani's anti-corruption yatra only reflects his double-standards."
He went on to add, "The hollowness behind Advani's anti-corruption campaign stood completely exposed when his own party men were recently caught offering a thousand rupees to journalists who had gone to cover the Advani yatra in Satna (Madhya Pradesh)."
