Maya gets another money garland

DHNS

Lucknow, 18 March 2010: Unfazed by criticism from various quarters over being garlanded with currency notes allegedly worth crores of rupees during a rally of party workers here on Monday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Wednesday accepted another garland of currency notes worth Rs 18 lakh. 

The garland was presented to her at a meeting of the party office-bearers, the Members of Parliament and the legislators from Uttar Pradesh at the BSP office in the state capital. When Mayawati called the meeting on Wednesday, it was expected that she would be issuing a clarification on the garland controversy.

In an apparent indication that she was not all disturbed by the widespread criticism, Mayawati’s close confidant  and Public Works Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui said that henceforth, provided she permits, their party supremo would be garlanded with notes and not flowers whenever she goes to any party programmes in the state.

He said that the garland was prepared by the Uttar Pradesh  unit of the party with contributions of Rs one lakh each from the workers of the 18 divisions in Uttar Pradesh.