Lucknow: In 1995, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati had emerged as an important player in Uttar Pradesh politics. Her importance can be gauged by the fact that the BJP chose to ally with her in 1997 and again in 2003 to form the government in the state even though their parting in 1995 had been marked by bitterness.
However, the parting gained an element of permanence in 2003 when the Taj Heritage Corridor case emerged. This was an alleged scam in 2002–2003 in which the then chief minister Mayawati and a minister in her government, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, were charged with corruption.
The Taj Corridor project was intended to upgrade tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal and was to be implemented during her tenure as chief minister. The then BJP government at the Centre gave the environmental clearance required for the project near the Taj Mahal. However, later the BJP backed out and then started saying that the project was not cleared by the Environment Ministry and blamed Mayawati for starting construction work near the Taj Mahal. The total estimated cost of the project was Rs 1.75 billion. The project was started with the support of the BJP and interrupted when the BSP misaligned itself with that party on 25 August, 2003.
Mayawati sensed the BJP's hostility toward the Taj Heritage Corridor project and snapped ties with that party. It was alleged that Mayawati had embezzled the money dedicated for this project. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Initially, the case saw some rapid progress, when the CBI conducted extensive searches at her various addresses, and claimed that though she had claimed income of only Rs 11 million during her tenure as chief minister, her bank balance in a single bank went up to Rs25 million and the total assets held by her were estimated at Rs 150 million. In September 2003, Ajay Agarwal, the former government counsel in the project, began accusing Mayawati of enriching herself from the Corridor project and also stated that Mayawati had recently acquired property both in her name and in the care of her relatives. However, since late 2003, investigations appear to have slowed down;
There is speculation that the case is used at regular intervals to push the BSP into submission by the Centre. After she lost the 2012 assembly elections in UP, Mayawati’s presence and power in UP politics has been rapidly declining. What makes it worse for her is that all her aides have turned hostile and there is the lurking fear of their handing over evidence against her. Former BSP minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui is now a regional Congress president while Babu Singh Kushwaha, whose name figured in the NRHM scam, is out of the BSP.
While the Taj Corridor case lurks in the background, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected cash deposits, totalling over Rs104 crore in an account belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party BSP and Rs 1.43 crore in an account belonging to Mayawati’s brother Anand Kumar in a branch of the United Bank of India. Officials said the ED as part of its routine survey and enquiry operations to check suspicious and huge cash deposits in banks, visited the Karol Bagh branch of the UBI and found huge deposits made in these two accounts after demonetisation.
The ED officials called for the records of the deposits made in the BSP account and found that while Rs 102 crore was deposited in Rs1,000 notes, the rest Rs3 crore was deposited in the old Rs 500 notes. Officials said they were astonished to find cash of about Rs15-Rs 17 crore being deposited every other day. The agency also detected another account in the same branch belonging to Anand, where Rs1.43 crore was found. A sum of Rs 18.98 lakh came into the account using the old notes after demonetisation.
The ED has sought full details about the two accounts from the bank even as it is understood that the agency has informed the income tax department which has the power to go into the legality of donations and contributions made to political parties. The ED had also asked the bank to provide CCTV footage and KYC documents used to open the accounts.
With the CBI, ED and the I-T department snapping at her heels, Mayawati has understandably retracted from an offensive position in politics. Her statements against the ruling BJP are much milder and the fire is now directed towards the opposition. Her party has suffered immensely because of the change in her position. The BSP strength in the state assembly has been reduced to one seat and in Parliament, there is a visible sense of unease among her MPs regarding the next general elections. Sources claim that it is because of the agencies that Mayawati has kept away from the opposition conclaves and has made it clear that she would not be a part of any such initiative. —IANS
