Akhilesh Das offered Rs 100 crore for Rajya Sabha ticket: Mayawati

LUCKNOW: BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday alleged former Union minister Akhilesh Das, who quit the party a day earlier, had offered her Rs 100 crore for renominating him to the Rajya Sabha. Das’s term in the Upper House ends on November 25.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Lucknow, Mayawati said the BSP would field Raja Ram and Bir Singh, both SC candidates, for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. “I would not have offered a ticket to Das even if he offered Rs 200 crore,” she said. “He even failed to mobilize the support of members of his Vaishya community. I’ve decided to provide tickets to Dalits only.”

About the party’s decision to deny tickets to OBCs, Muslims and upper castes, Mayawati said it was taken to prevent others from feeling neglected.Das countered Mayawati’s allegations. The former BSP national general secretary said he had not offered any money and it was the BSP leadership that extorted money from candidates contesting assembly and parliamentary elections.”It’s the BSP culture to force MPs, MLAs and office-bearers to cough up funds for the party,” Das told the media soon after Mayawati’s press conference. “It is not true that I had quit the Congress and requested for a BSP membership. In fact, it was Mayawati who had pursued me to join the BSP. She had even dictated my resignation letter.”