Mayawati's 'generous' aid raises eyebrows

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Lucknow, September 8: : Chief Minister Mayawati donated Rs 11 crore from the state Government’s contingency fund for flood victims during her recent visit to Bihar. She also announced that a day’s salary of state’s bureaucrats —which comes to around Rs 6.2 lakh —has been deducted for relief.

There’s more. The office of the Director General of Police has directed police stations across the state to gather relief material worth Rs 5 lakh each for flood-hit Bihar. Three trucks full of relief material from Lucknow alone are already on their way to the neighbouring state. Undeterred by the Opposition’s criticism that the state Government was not providing relief to flood victims in the state, Mayawati carried out an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of UP and Bihar, suspended a few senior state officials and announced that money should not be a hindrance in the relief operations.

Political analysts see more to Maya’s generosity for Bihar. “Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats. This is an opportune time for any political party to build a base there,” said Uday Kumar, a senior political analyst.

The members of the ruling party, however, refuted the allegations. “She is not merely the Chief Minister of this state, she is also a possible candidate for the country’s next prime minister,” said a senior BSP leader.

Party in-charge for Bihar, Gandhi Azad, said: “It is a humane move keeping in view the natural calamity faced by Bihar. On her directives, the Bahujan Trust has put up relief camps everywhere.”

The BJP also praised Mayawati Government’s relief work for Bihar. “It is a natural calamity and the state should extend whatever help it can,” said the BJP state president Ramapati Ram Tripathi.

Samajwadi Party leaders, however, have a different story to tell. According to them, SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was the first among state politicians to visit Bihar.