Expelled BSP leader hits back at Mayawati, releases 'call recordings'

LUCKNOW: A day after BSP chief Mayawati expelled her once trusted lieutenant Naseemuddin Siddiqui from the party, the war of words between the two intensified on Thursday. Siddiqui released at a press conference audio clips of his telephonic conversation with Mayawati in which she is heard purportedly seeking a ‘hisaab’ (account) of money collected from candidates and party workers. She is also heard telling Siddiqui to “get the job done quickly”.The authenticity of the audio clips could not be verified. Mayawati retorted by calling Siddiqui a “taping blackmailer” and said she had sought an explanation from him about the money collected through party’s membership drive. “It’s nothing new… I have been saying so openly. Our party runs through donations collected from party workers,’’ she said. Mayawati also accused Siddiqui of usurping money collected from poor partymen.“I was told by my supporters that Naseemuddin had a habit of provoking people, getting their conversation taped and then blackmailing them. But I never believed them. Now I realise that my supporters were correct,” Mayawati said. “In fact, Kanshiramji (BSP founder) too did not like him,” she added.On his part, Siddiqui accused Mayawati of demanding Rs 50 crore from him and alleged that she used derogatory language against Muslims , backwards and upper castes post BSP’s humiliating defeat in the UP assembly elections.“She insisted that Muslims did not vote for BSP, which is not correct. I told her that Muslims were heavily in favour of BSP until Samajwadi Party got into an alliance with Congress. But she refused to believe me,’’ Siddiqui claimed.Mayawati, however, rubbished the allegation saying that she could never use bad language against any community. “In fact, after I expelled Naseemuddin from the party, we started receiving congratulatory calls from the Muslim community,” she said.Siddiqui lashed out at Mayawati and party national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra for “conspiring” to finish off the party so that no other dalit leader could rise to her level. “I dedicated 35 years of my life to the party but Mayawati, her brother and SC Mishra humiliated me as I objected to their wrong-doings,” Siddiqui said.Mayawati retorted by questioning Siddiqui’s claim that he had been with the party for 35 years. “He claims to have been with the BSP since its formative years. But the fact is that he came in BSP in 1990 after losing Nagar Palika election in Banda. He won from Banda in 1991 on BSP ticket but lost in 1993. He thereafter never dared to contest an election,” Mayawati said.