By IANS,
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi Saturday charged Chief Minister Mayawati with rigging the recent by-polls for four assembly seats and demanded that central paramilitary forces be deployed for the 12 other by-elections that are due.
“Under the regime of Mayawati, who blatantly misuses government machinery to make her candidate win, free and fair by-elections can only take place under the supervision of central forces,” Joshi told reporters in Basti district, some 300 km from Lucknow.
“Taking into account the corrupt practices of the chief minister, we have lost faith in the state government’s machinery and therefore want central forces should be deployed for the upcoming by-polls,” she added.
According to officials, by-polls for 12 assembly seats are to be conducted in the state, though the State Election Commission (SEC) is yet to announce the schedule. The vacant seats include Lalitpur, Jhansi, Lucknow (West), Mughalsarai, and Padrauna, the officials added.
The BSP’s strength in the 403 member state assembly moved up to 218 after it wrested three of the four assembly seats for which by-elections took place Aug 18.
Joshi also accused Mayawati of siphoning off funds meant for undertaking development projects for the state.
“She (Mayawati) is not all concerned with solving the problems of people in the state… She only cares about building memorials and parks, by misusing funds,” Joshi maintained