New Delhi, October 28: The Congress Friday attacked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for misusing central funds while the Bahujan Samaj Party labelled as ‘politically motivated’ union minister Jairam Ramesh’s allegations of irregularities in the execution of the rural jobs scheme in the state.
‘It is a sad state of affairs that MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) funds were used for buying toys, tents and calendars,’ said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Delhi.
‘The UP CM has overlooked development. She supports wrong decisions and boosts administrative corruption. In no other state, the bureaucracy is so demoralized as in UP,’ he said.
Referring to Ramesh’s charges, Singhvi said that Mayawati was ‘playing with public sentiments and the time to answer these charges would come in a few months’.
‘The details about misuse of MGNREGS funds in the minister’s letter only prove our charges,’ said Singhvi.
Mayawati Friday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, complaining against Ramesh.
‘It only highlights his lack of understanding of fiscal federalism inherent in our constitution,’ Mayawati said.
‘Jairam’s letter is politically motivated,’ state cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said in Lucknow releasing to the press copies of Mayawati’s letter.
‘It was strange that the union minister chose to draw his conclusions on the basis of feedback limited to just seven districts in a state which has as many as 75 districts,’ he added.
In his letter Ramesh had Monday asked the chief minister: ‘…Why a CBI probe should not be ordered into the implementation of the MGNREGS in the state which receives around Rs.5,000 crore annually under the scheme.’
—IANS—