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Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Saturday said a conspiracy to kill her has been uncovered by state security agencies.
Speaking to journalists, invited to her house for a lunch to celebrate her government's three months in office, the chief minister said she has written letters to President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani in this connection.
The chief minister named Atiq Ahmed and Brijesh Singh as the brains behind the conspiracy.
Alleging that the plan to kill her was drawn at the behest of some political parties, she said the identity of these parties would be revealed at an opportune time. "In the mean time, let the central agencies investigate the whole affair and find out for themselves," she said.
Atiq Ahmed had some time back switched from the Samajwadi Party to the Apna Dal. However, recent reports say that he is re-establishing links with the SP.
Brijesh Singh is close to the Bhartiya Janata Party, an ally of Mayawati's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party. His brother, Chulbul Singh, a former BJP legislator from Varanasi, is a close aide of former chief minister Rajnath Singh.
"I have learnt through reliable sources that Atiq Ahmed and Brijesh Singh had drawn up a plan to get me killed," Mayawati said.
"I have urged the President, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister to get the matter investigated by a central agency and take appropriate steps to prevent the situation from taking an ugly turn," she said. "Personally, I am convinced that this is happening because of my sustained campaign against the mafia in Uttar Pradesh," she added.
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