BSP leader charges Sonia Gandhi with wearing cash garland - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Despite facing severe criticism from all quarters for the currency note garlands that were presented to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati during the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) silver jubilee celebrations, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a senior leader of the party, has charged Congress President Sonia Gandhi of receiving a similar garland. Addressing a rally in Lucknow, Siddiqui displayed a photograph of Sonia Gandhi being presented a garland of thousand rupee notes. He said Congress party workers had taken the matter of Mayawati's garland to Parliament, but forgot about their own wrong deeds. "Even Sonia Gandhi was wearing the garland made of thousand rupee notes on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti, which was gifted by Valmikis (people of lower social strata)," said Siddiqui. "I want to ask the Valmikis how they managed such a huge amount of money. Till today, Sonia Gandhi has not able to notice or comment on that," he added. The income-tax department is investigating the source from where the money came for Mayawati's currency garland. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress have both demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry in the matter. Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said, that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but a daughter of wealth. Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized Mayawati for doing business through politics. The multi-crore garland was just a small part of the extravagant Rs 200 crore celebrations that marked the BSP's 25th anniversary, and its founder Kanshi Ram's birthday, with a massive rally in Lucknow on March 15.