Monday, June 6 2005 22:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Garh Mukteshwar (UP): Playing the Dalit and minority cards to the hilt ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today (Jun 6, 2005) accused Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati for not having done enough for backward classes and stuck to his demand for a Muslim Chief Minister in Bihar.

Addressing a party rally in Garh Mukteshwar, Paswan charged Mayawati did not "give representation to the Dalits and Muslims besides being herself mired in controversies."

"What is this Taj Corridor scam? What is Mayawati doing there for the Dalits? Prior to the polls, all parties talk big but when time comes for ticket allocation, Muslims are sidelined," he alleged.

"The Bahujan Samajwadi Party should be renamed Brahman Samaj Party," he quipped referring to BSP's efforts to woo upper caste votes.

"I stand by my demand - Bihar should have a Muslim Chief Minister," Paswan said at a rally in Garh Mukteshwar.

"Before the Bihar Assembly was dissolved, I was even willing to let go my resolve of not associating with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in order to facilitate installation of a Muslim in Bihar as the Chief Minister," he said.

Accusing the RJD and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conniving to break up his party, the LJP president said "it was better to have let go its MLAs than to compromise with its ideologies."