Mayawati calls emergency party meeting over currency garland controversy

Lucknow, Mar 17 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati will preside over an emergency meeting of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday to discuss the currency garland controversy involving her.

All BSP lawmakers have been informed about the meeting and have been asked to attend.

Mayawati was severely criticized both inside and outside Parliament as the currency garland controversy sparked demands for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the source of money used to make the garland reportedly worth Rs 5 crore.

The emergency meeting has been called as the Income Tax Department is expected to begin an inquiry into the controversy.

The department is reportedly collecting photographs and video footage of the garland from various sources, including newspapers and TV channels that covered the event.

Sources said the meeting will be held at Mayawati''s official residence in Lucknow and it is speculated that she would issue guidelines to her party members.

The Samajwadi Party and the Congress both have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter, questioning the source from where the money had come.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has accused Mayawati of misusing public money, and said that she is not the daughter of a Dalit, but the daughter of wealth.

Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has also criticized her of doing business through politics.

The multi-crore garland was just a small part of the extravagant Rs 200 crore celebrations that marked the BSP''s 25th anniversary, and its founder Kanshi Ram''s birthday, with a massive rally in Lucknow.