LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati
on Tuesday rubbished the allegations made against her by the
whistleblower website WikiLeaks that she had sent a special jet to
Mumbai to bring in her favourite sandals.
Calling it a
political conspiracy ahead of elections, the BSP chief said WikiLeaks
owner has either gone mad or supporting her opponents.
Mayawati said Assange needs to be admitted in a mental asylum. "And, if
there is no such asylum in his country, they can send him to UP and I
will make arrangements for his admission in the mental asylum in Agra,"
she said.
Mayawati said that media reports based on the
WikiLeaks about her right hand man and party general secretary Satish
Chandra Mishra and cabinet secretary Sheshank Shekhar Singh were
baseless and distorted and were a part of a conspiracy to break the
unity of the BSP and defame her government.
Mayawati also
condemned news channels and newspapers which had published one-sided
reports based on the WikiLeaks and without her party's reaction. "The
reports are totally baseless," she said.
"I will give more
powerful posts and important work to Shashank Shekhar Singh and Satish
Chandra Mishra," said Mayawati. "The opposition is conspiring to weaken
and divide the BSP in the run up to 2012 assembly elections but I will
not allow it to happen," she added.
Mayawati took offence to
the BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's press conference on Monday about
the WikiLeaks assertion that she sends her private jet to Mumbai to buy
her preferred brand of sandals. "This is baseless," she said and added
sarcastically, "It seems that the BJP leader was in that imaginary
journey in the jet to Mumbai." She also said that the Naqvi was not as
happy after winning the Rajya Sabha elections as he seemed on Monday at
the press conference in which he spoke against her.
Maya also
said that some journalists and politicians levelling allegations against
her, the BSP leaders and her government had anti-Dalit mindset.
US embassy cables from 2007 to 2009 released by the WikiLeaks website
in recent days described Mayawati, 55, as "a first-rate egomaniac" who
"is obsessed with becoming prime minister".
They said Mayawati
celebrated her birthday each year by receiving millions of dollars in
gifts from "sycophantic party members, civil servants and business
people" while officials vie for a chance to feed her cake.
"When she needed new sandals, her private jet flew empty to Mumbai to
retrieve her preferred brand," a cable dated October 23, 2008 reported,
adding she employed food tasters to guard against poisoning.
The whistleblower website on Tuesday said that Mishra has told the US that the CM has a "penchant for corruption".
However, the BSP general secretary rubbished these reports and called
it completely baseless. "Reports on WikiLeaks cables are absolutely
false. There is no truth in the controversy. I did not meet an US
dignitary in 2007. I will file a legal notice and pursue the case till
it comes to a logical end," Mishra said.
"This is a conspiracy
as elections are around the corner," added Mishra. According to a
secret US embassy cable, the BSP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP
also told US embassy officials that the chief minister has a "strong
authoritarian streak".
The cable added that Mishra is "fluent
in English and serves as the principal interlocutor between the US
Embassy and the BSP. He has graciously hosted Embassy officers at his
house".
The cable added, "Mishra has been forthright and frank
in his discussions, even to the point of acknowledging Mayawati's
penchant for personal corruption and her strong authoritarian streak."
It says, "Mayawati has very weak English language skills and limited
exposure to non-Indians and may not be entirely comfortable interacting
with Americans. To date, she has preferred to use Mishra in this role,
although a future meeting, probably between Mayawati and the Ambassador
(with Mishra likely acting as translator) cannot be ruled out."
This cable was dated May 29, 2007 - 16 days after Mayawati took oath as chief minister on May 13, 2007.
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