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I appointed Mishra’s kin: Mayawati

Special Correspondent

Gives clean chit to Minister

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday gave a clean chit to her Minister Satish Chandra Mishra, who was accused of promoting his relatives in key posts in the Bahujan Samaj Party Government.

Mr. Mishra would, however, cease to be Minister after two-and-a-half months as she assigned him a bigger task — of enlisting upper caste for the party in the Lok Sabha elections.

At a press conference here, Ms. Mayawati said it was she who appointed his close relatives, after assessing their commitment and sacrifice for the party’s cause. She lauded Mr. Mishra’s contribution to the expansion of the BSP support base and his legal advice.

Mr. Mishra was allegedly instrumental in getting his younger sister appointed Chairperson of the State Women’s Commission and his cousin Anil Kumar, Chairman of the Pollution Control Board. Health and Family Welfare MinisterAnant Kumar alias Antu Mishra is another cousin.

Ms. Mayawati said Mr. Mishra’s sister was a qualified woman who stood by her during her crisis. Mr. Antu Mishra would contest the Assembly by-election from Farrukhabad. Despite opposition from a section of the media, she would go out of her way to promote those who, she felt, should be encouraged, the Chief Minister said.

On her assets, worth about Rs. 50 crore, declared before the returning officer for the Legislative Council byelections, Ms. Mayawati said party members gifted her the money, in the form of affidavits of Rs.5 and Rs.10. They authorised her to spend the money as she desired.

Had the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA Government not tried to “falsely implicate” her in the Taj Heritage Corridor case, the assets would not have grown, Ms. Mayawati said, adding the BSP workers, angered by the raids conducted on her residence, decided to enrich her.

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