I'm ready to go to jail for life like Mandela: Maya Thursday, February 26 2004 20:35 Hrs (IST) Patna:
Accusing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of trying to bully her into joining the ruling alliance by using the Taj Heritage Corridor case, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said she was not one to be cowed by such pressure.
"The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) led NDA tried to cow me by using the Taj Heritage Corridor case and the manuwadi (feudal) media did the Government's bidding," Mayawati told a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) rally in Patna.
Accusing the Centre of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to get her framed in the case, Mayawati dared the Government to jail her and referred to the protracted incarceration of South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela.
"Like Mandela who served 27 years in prison, I am prepared to go to jail for life, but these people will not be able to break my nerve or diminish my desire to fight for justice to the poor and the neglected," she said.
PTI
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