LUCKNOW, 5 August — Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati late Saturday alleged that two criminal turned politicians had been hired to kill her because of her drive against crime in the north state.
“A conspiracy has been hatched by certain political groups to get me eliminated”, she told reporters invited over for lunch to mark the completion of her three months in office. She said: “I have received authentic reports from my own sources that two criminal turned politicians — Atiq Ahmad and Brijesh Singh, both currently in jail — have been hired by certain politicians to kill me.”
The chief minister however refused to divulge the names of the conspirators. “I will disclose their names when the time comes.”
On being pointed out that the matter was a state subject, Mayawati shot back: “I am in the Z-plus security now and being the chief minister I expect that the matter be investigated by a federal agency.
“I have written to the president, prime minister and the deputy prime minister to have this probed by a central agency, so that they would also be convinced about the seriousness of the threat to my life,” she added. Mayawati was of the view that she was being targeted because of her drive against criminals.
A party hopper, Atiq was a sitting MLA from Allahabad who had switched loyalties from Samajwadi Party (SP) to Apna Dal, a regional outfit. Reports said that he was re-establishing his links with the Samajwadi Party, whose state general secretary Shiv Pal Singh Yadav — the younger brother of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav — went all the way to see Atiq, currently lodged in jail.
On the other hand, Brijesh was closely connected to the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling ally with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
His brother, Chulbul Singh was a former BJP legislator from Banaras and was known for his proximity to former Chief Minister Rajnath Singh. Mayawati heads the ruling BSP-BJP coalition in the state.
