Lucknow:
Mayawati has delayed a decision on whether she will continue to prop up the ruling coalition at the centre. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief consulted her party's top leaders in Lucknow on Wednesday morning, and said that she will now take a few days to make up her mind. "You will know my decision shortly," she said.
(Highlights of Mayawati's press conference)She had earlier said that she would share her verdict today.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court has clarified that the CBI is free to investigate her for corruption, if it gets the required clearance from the Uttar Pradesh government. Her deferral will be interpreted as a pressure tactic against the centre, a hint that her support will depend on how the CBI reacts to that green signal.
In July, the Supreme Court had said that the CBI had erroneously investigated the former chief minister's wealth; the court said what it had sanctioned was an inquiry into an alleged scam during Mayawati's term as chief minister in a project meant to upgrade tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal.
Today, Mayawati did not have positive feedback on the Prime Minister's coalition, the UPA. "It is a government entrenched in graft, and has taken no real steps to check this," said the former chief minister, whose own defeat in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year was attributed largely to allegations of endemic corruption.
She was also critical of the government's economic policies, which have hurt the country's poor, she said. "The UPA has been so busy with its own problems," she said, "that it has not focused on fighting inflation and helping the poor." She also repeated that she does not expect the government to last its term till 2014, and said she has asked her party to get into election mode.
Yesterday, at a large rally, her first since being voted out of power, she said that she remains opposed to the recently introduced reforms in retail, but added that she is willing to be convinced of its merits.
(Read: Mayawati's new for UPA- Early elections likely, could be talked into FDI)It was the decision to open up India to foreign mega-chains like Wal-Mart that cost the Prime Minister his biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee. Last month, she pulled her Trinamool Congress out of his coalition, reducing the government to a minority. To remain in power, the coalition needs the external support of both Mayawati and her arch political foe, Mulayam Singh Yadav. Together, they bring 43 MPs to them, necessary for the government to cross the 272 votes in parliament that it needs to remain in power.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said yesterday, "The Centre's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail will prove to be detrimental for the local economy. But the Centre has a different opinion. If the decision to allow FDI benefits the farmers, small businessmen and ordinary, the BSP may in future support the decision. But in the present situation, without seeing the effects of this decision, our party will not support FDI."
But Mayawati also made it clear at her rally that the valuable support she offers must not be taken for granted. She warned that she does not expect the UPA government to last its term till 2014, and said she has told her party workers to gear up for early general elections.
For all her attacks on the Centre, Mayawati stands to lose more than she can gain from early elections. She needs time to rebuild her support base in UP, which rejected her overwhelmingly in the state Assembly elections earlier this year.
The rally at Lucknow's Ambedkar Park had the usual trappings of a Mayawati show - a huge audience, a massive stage with a huge picture of her in the background, and a vitriolic attack on Mulayam Singh Yadav and son, Akhilesh, is now the chief minister of UP.
Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, she said, were so against Dalit empowerment that they cancelled the holiday she had instituted to commemorate the death anniversary of Dalit leader, Kanshi Ram, who was her mentor.
She also said that since his sweeping victory, Akhilesh, who is 39, had failed to improve the law and order in Uttar Pradesh, or tackle corruption. "Everyone knows that during our government's time our policies were based on inclusiveness to allow entire society to benefit from it. But the Samajwadi Party hasn't done anything for Muslims in the state," she said.