'BSP demanding Rs 2-10 crore for UP poll tickets'

LUCKNOW: In a fresh rebellion in the BSP , MLAs Romi Sahni and Brijesh Verma on Wednesday criticised party workers for sloganeering against expelled BJP leader Dayashankar Singh 's family and accused the party leadership of demanding "huge sums" for allotting tickets for the 2017 UP assembly polls."We condemn Singh's remarks against BSP chief Mayawati and also oppose the slogans raised during the BSP protest ... his 12-year-old daughter cannot be punished for what Singh has said ... our sympathy is with the family," Sahni and Verma, the MLAs from Palia and Mallawan respectively, told reporters here.They alleged that the BSP was getting a "bad name" because of the "huge sums" being demanded for party tickets which was against the ideals of both BR Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.They said anywhere between Rs 2 crore and Rs 10 crore was being demanded for BSP tickets for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls and even sitting MLAs were not being spared.They claimed that both of them were called to Mayawati's residence on July 6 and, in the presence of the party chief, were asked to pay Rs 5 crore for Palia and Rs 4 crore for Mallawan seats by BSP national general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui , adding that they were "warned" that their tickets would be cancelled if they did not pay up."Tickets are given to whosoever gives the highest amount. This is very sad ... money is being demanded through party coordinators," alleged the two MLAs.Replying to a query, they clarified that they were not quitting the party.The latest rebellion comes weeks after Mayawati's party suffered back-to-back jolts when senior leaders Swami Prasad Maurya and RK Chaudhary quit the BSP, followed by former MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi. All of them accused her of "auctioning" party tickets.Regretting that "rampant money power" in the party was tarnishing its image, the two MLAs claimed that the BSP would otherwise have touched "new horizons" and Mayawati could have become the "Prime Minister of the country".