Mayawati said it became necessary for her to make the announcement as the Congress and some other parties, as part of a "conspiracy", are allegedly trying to create an impression that they would be forging an alliance with the BSP.
Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the counter-terrorist commando force NSG from VIP security duties and handing over its nine "high-risk" VIPs to the CRPF by next month, official sources said Wednesday.
Gandhi dismissed as an "eyewash" the probe into what she called as Ayodhya land 'scam' in areas around the proposed Ram temple while Mayawati demanded that the state government cancel the land deals if the allegations in a media report on the issue are true.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was on Saturday granted interim bail by a local court in a case relating to derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati. The release order has been sent to the district jail, where she has been lodged after she was arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mayawati.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, she said: "The July 12 blast was carried out to target my minister, Nand Gopal Nandi, whose popularity had become an eye sore for the entire Opposition, whom he left far behind at the 2007 state assembly election."
Six days after he dared to sound the bugle of revolt against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, former UP minister for family welfare and mines, Babu Singh Kushwaha, was served a notice of eviction from the ministerial bungalow he has been occupying in Lucknow.
She further accused the EC of being biased and 'wrongly favouring' BJP leaders.
'BSP will remain a player, but only a marginal player, as long as the BJP is extremely dominant in North India politics.'
Uttar Pradesh Minister Anand Sen Yadav on Tuesday resigned following allegations of being involved in the kidnapping of a Dalit girl and the state government ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the whole matter.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, she said, had openly violated the Anti-Defection law and cheated the BSP for a second time by getting its MLAs included in the Congress.
Violence erupted in the central Maharashtra city of Parbhani after a replica of the Constitution was vandalized. Around 50 people have been detained for the protests, while a man with mental health issues has been arrested for allegedly damaging the replica. Opposition leaders condemned the incident, calling for strict action against those responsible. The situation is under control, but tensions remain high in the city.
The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that its judgement on former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was only in Taj Corridor case and it did not go into other aspects including merits of allegation of disproportionate assets amassed by the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist also congratulated Mayawati and said it was now clear that the electoral college was in favour of a secular candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
In her petition, Joshi squarely blamed state Chief Minister Mayawati and her henchmen for the arson attack.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi was on Thursday remanded to judicial custody for 14 days for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati.The state police, who took her into custody late on Wednesday night while she was on her way from Ghaziabad to New Delhi, produced her before Moradabad's chief judicial magistrate, who ordered her to be sent to 14 days judicial custody. She was then sent to the Moradabad jail.
Additional District Judge Sudha Sharma passed the order and fixed July 29 as the next date of hearing.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday renewed her demand for splitting the state into four parts, besides creation of Gorkhaland and Vidarbha.
Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party on Thursday forced the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha for an hour, over the alleged inflammatory remarks made by Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Bahuguna Joshi, against state Chief Minister Mayawati.Unrelenting BSP and SP members continued to raise the issue and the Left parties too supported them. As the din continued, Ansari adjourned the house till 12 pm.
The 60-year-old Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief was arrested on July 15 for allegedly making unpalatable remarks against Mayawati.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta has tendered a 'sincere and unqualified apology' to the Supreme Court for allegedly going ahead with the construction of the Rs 2,600-crore memorials and statues of Dalit icons, including Chief Minister Mayawati, in Lucknow. In a 51-page affidavit, Gupta, while strongly denying any defiance of the SC's directions, said he has the highest respect for the apex court and was 'duty bound to comply' with its orders.
Gandhi said he has respect for BSP patriarch Kanshi Ram for articulating the Dalit voice of Uttar Pradesh, even though the Congress had suffered during that phase.
With state elections in sight, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is focusing on providing good governance for which she has sought the repatriation of Indian Administrative Service officer of UP cadre Desh Deepak Verma from the Centre to don the mantle of the state's new chief secretary.
Over 50 people have been arrested after the communal violence in Maharajgaj town, officials said on Tuesday, as markets remained shut and people stayed indoors for a second day in a row amid heavy deployment of police and other security personnel.
Gandhi had on Saturday said that the Congress reached out to the BSP leader, offering her the chief minister's post for contesting the assembly polls together, but she did not respond.
The BSP chief said she does not want to see any damage to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
Hasan also questioned Mayawati's "new found love for Muslims" and alleged that she was a bigger enemy of the minority community than even the BJP, with whom she has shared power in the state a number of times.
Mayawati was questioned by sleuths of the Anti-Corruption unit of the agency at her official residence in New Delhi, CBI sources said.
According to sources, Congress managers are attempting to fix a meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati. Congress is hopeful that Mayawati will support any government other than BJP, even though the BSP supremo had lashed out at Congress throughout her campaigning.
Babbar was elected from Agra as its Lok Sabha MP twice -- in 1999 and 2004. However, following delimitation in 2008, the Lok Sabha seat became reserved for the scheduled castes.
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta indicted 199 government officials, including two ministers, in the Rs 1,410 cr memorial scam. However, the omission of then chief minister Mayawati from the list has raised eyebrows. Sharat Pradhan reports
The prisons department had on Thursday issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi, citing the state's 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment.
Claiming that the BJP's government's works in the three holy cities are only follow-ups of her government's initiatives, Mayawati went on to promise, in what is being seen as a subtle shift towards soft Hindutva ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, to complete all those work on time.
The BJP is leaning on Yogi's 'batenge to katenge' theme to weave a unifying narrative that transcends caste and communal lines.
Sirsa MP Kumari Selja will campaign for the Congress and address a public meeting in Narwana this week, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala said on Monday after the Bharatiya Janata Party targeted the grand old party over alleged infighting amid reports that she was sulking.
It is now clear that under the present Chief Election Commissioner, Lok Sabha polls are not being held in a totally free and fair manner, she said.
Mayawati alleged that the prime minister had crossed all limits of decency in terming the Bahujan Samaj Party her personal property.
Mayawati also alleged that women in the BJP are scared of their husbands meeting the PM fearing they might 'abandon their wives like him' and that Modi deserves the abusive language used against him by the opposition.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati claimed that while the Election Commission acted on the complaints made by the Congress and BJP, it did not pay any heed to objections raised by the Bahujan Samaj Party. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Her official Twitter handle is @SushriMayawati.
