Mayawati accuses Congress, BJP of playing politics over ‘50% commission’ row

NEW DELHI: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Monday censured both the Congress and the BJP over the raging “50% commission” controversy in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and said the real issues of governance have taken a backseat due to the fight between the two parties on such matters. She also said her party will contest the forthcoming assembly elections in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on its own.
In three posts on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister (CM) spelt out her party’s priorities while simultaneously lashing out at both the BJP, which is ruling MP, and the Congress, which is in power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Mayawati said, “How appropriate is it for the burning issues related to public interest such as inflation, poverty, unemployment, exploitation, atrocities and the likes to be left behind due to the politics of allegations and counter-allegations and litigations between the Congress and the BJP over the accusations of 50% commission of the Madhya Pradesh government? Why is it so?”
Without naming anyone specifically, she was referring to the row over Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s allegations that the MP government collects a commission of 50% from the contractors. In a post in Hindi on August 11, the Congress said, “The contractors' union in MP, in a letter to the chief justice of the high court, has complained about receiving payment only after paying 50% commission in the state. The corrupt BJP government in Karnataka used to collect 40% commission. In MP, the BJP has gone ahead by breaking its own record of corruption. The people of Karnataka ousted the government of 40% commission. Now the people of MP will remove the 50% commission BJP government from power.”

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government refuted Priyanka’s allegations and, in retaliation, filed FIRs against her, Congress state president Kamal Nath and others in 41 districts of the state.
Reacting to the developments, Mayawati said corruption is an important issue not only in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh but also in Congress's Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. “But the sufferings of the poor, unemployed, farmers and women insecurity in these three states are the real election issues due to their (Congress and BJP governments’) anti-people policies and inflated claims of development,” she said.

She reiterated that the BSP is contesting the assembly elections alone and on its own strength against the BJP and Congress governments in these three states. She said the BSP will contest the elections on the “special issues of public interest and public welfare”. The names of the candidates are also being announced at the local level. “The party is confident that it will get a good result,” she added.