Sending clear signal that the BSP and the Congress are coming together, BSP president Mayawati on Tuesday sacked a top BSP leader for claiming that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is not a ‘prime minister material’ and can never succeed in politics as he looks more like his mother, a ‘foreigner’.
Jai Prakash Singh, vice president of BSP, made the disparaging remarks at a meeting to discuss strategy for Madhya Pradesh polls. He was also sacked from his post of national coordinator of the party.
Singh was promoted only in May last when Mayawati reshuffled her party. Before that, he had served as a coordinator of Delhi and Rajasthan.
The BSP chief’s action comes amid reports of the BSP wanting to forge an alliance with the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. According to reports, the Congress is also ready for the deal.
After a party workers’ zonal meeting in lucknow on Monday, Singh made comments on Rahul and his foreign ancestry from his mother Sonia Gandhi’s side. “Had Rahul looked like his father (Rajiv Gandhi), he could have had a chance to succeed in Indian politics but he turned out like his mother (Sonia), who is a foreigner. His blood is foreign. I can tell you with all surety that Rahul can never succeed in Indian politics,” he said.
While criticising Congress president, Singh, though, backed his own party chief as the prime ministerial candidate, saying there is only one alternative left in the country, Mayawati, and that Rahul “does not stand anywhere.”
Addressing mediapersons, Mayawati said Singh’s views did not reflect the “humanitarian ideology and policies” of the BSP. “It was also against the party’s ‘’culture’’ to make unrestrained personal comments against top leadership of rival parties. His remarks are borne out of his personal thinking and not of the BSP,” she said.
The bond between Mayawati and Sonia which was witnessed during HD Kumaraswamy’s oath-taking ceremony seems to be going stronger as the BSP chief dismissed her vice-president for making condescending remarks against the Congress leader.
The BSP supremo warned the party workers on speaking about the possible alliance for upcoming elections.
She said the statements made by Singh were his personal opinion and had nothing to do with the party.
Commenting on the alliance, Mayawati said be it Uttar Pradesh or some another State, party members must not talk anything about the alliance and must leave it to the high command.