Mayawati accuses Centre of depriving UP of funds

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today accused the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre of "starving the state of much needed central funds" for different development projects.

Addressing an election rally at the Exhibition Grounds here, Mayawati said had the centre conceded to the state government's repeated pleas for funds, the state of UP would have been marching ahead in different fields.

Refuting the allegation of corruption against her party's government in Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister said, "in the last Assembly elections, a number of infiltrators had managed to sneak into our party and get elected.

"Some of them became ministers. When we detected their wrong doings we immediately removed them from their respective posts", she said.

Taking a dig at the Bhartiya Janata Party, Mayawati said, "When we removed certain corrupt elements from our party, other parties who championed the cause of honesty accepted them with open arms".

Mayawati said, "the Bhartiya Janata Party has no moral right to speak of corruption after the track record of their party's government in Karnataka has come before the country. The track record of the NDA government which ruled in the centre for about seven years also reflects the BJP's fickle commitment to the cause of fighting corruption", she said.

Hitting out at the UPA government, the Chief Minister said, "the UPA government's numerous scandals just in the past three years should expose the true face of the Congress Party on the issue of corruption".