Date:15/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/15/stories/2003041505001100.htm

National

Arrest me if you can: Mulayam

Goraya (Jalandhar) April 14. Apparently unfazed by the filing of FIRs against him by the Mayawati Government, the Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, today dared the State administration to arrest him and dismissed as baseless the allegation that he had misused Government funds during his tenure as Chief Minister.

"It is political vendetta. The cases registered against me are baseless. The Comptroller and Auditor General, the High Court and the State Assembly have already given a clean chit on my decisions," he told reporters here.

"When the Assembly cleared me of the allegations of misuse of discretionary funds, Ms. Mayawati was also present in the House," he said.

"By registering cases against me, Ms. Mayawati is taking revenge for the SP releasing video CDs showing her asking her party MPs and MLAs to donate a part of their Local Area Development Funds to the BSP coffers," he alleged.

"We had not succumbed to the pressure of even Indira Gandhi during the Emergency and we will not bend before Ms. Mayawati," Mr. Yadav said and dared the Chief Minister to arrest him.

"I am ready to go to jail if I have committed any wrong." — PTI