Lucknow, July 1: Days after she withdrew her support to the UPA government citing price rise and political prejudice, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today came out to slam the growing warmth between the Congress and her bitter rival Samajwadi Party. She said that both were coming together on the India-US nuclear deal because they were wary of losing Muslim support by pushing the deal.

That’s why, she said, at a press conference here, that “both these parties were spreading canards that the BSP is going for an electoral understanding with the BJP for the next Lok Sabha elections.”

CPM Politburo member M K Pandhe had made a similar observation that Mulayam would lose Muslim support if he backed the Congress on the nuclear deal because “a majority of the Muslim masses are against the deal.” After an angry chorus from Muslim groups, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat had issued a statement that the party disagreed with Pandhe.

Her remarks come after BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani, at a rally in Kanpur last week, wished her government “all success” and said that if the NDA comes to power, it will not discriminate against the state government.

“Obviously, the propaganda against the BSP is meant to create confusion in the minds of the common people and in particular among the Muslim vote base of the BSP (it has 29 Muslim MLAs in the UP Assembly),” said Mayawati. “The UPA government is adamant to sign the nuclear deal with the USA at the cost of the much cheaper gas from Iran but Muslims would never accept the deal”.

Mayawati ruled out any alliance with the BJP and termed such “insinuations” against the party as “baseless,” and “part of a political conspiracy.”

She claimed the SP had to support the nuclear deal as part of a “bargain” with the Congress given the inquiries against Mulayam Singh Yadav and his relatives and friends. Criticising BJP leader LK Advani for his seemingly pro-BSP remark during a rally at Kanpur on June 27, Mayawati said such suggestions were uncalled for and were picked up by Congress and SP and twisted to suit their narrow political agenda to malign the BSP.

“Advani had nothing to say as his rally was a flop show and the remark by him was made deliberately to confuse the people of UP,” she said. She alleged that it was the SP and the Congress which encouraged communal politics in the country, either by inaction in the Babri demolition or the inflammatory comments of Mulayam Singh Yadav 1990 onwards, the BSP supremo said.

“The SP and the Congress have always complemented each other in the communal politics of BJP”, Mayawati said, alleging that Mulayam was responsible for taking BJP from two seats to 88 in the Lok Sabha in 1989. Mayawati also sought to warn the Left parties about trusting Mulayam Singh Yadav. “He dumped the Left parties as soon as he got a better bargain from the Congress,” she added.

Taking strong exception to Mulayam Singh’s recent statement in which he had said that an Emergency-like situation prevailed in UP and the security of women was endangered in the present regime, Mayawati said the situation was “bad only for anti-social elements and criminals owing allegiance to the Samajwadi Party.”