'Elephant' giving nightmares to Rahul: Mayawati

Scaling up her war of words with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, UP chief minister Mayawati on Sunday said the party was scared of being "trampled" under the feet of the elephant, the ruling BSP's poll symbol. "The Congress is getting nervous because its mass base is shrinking. The 'yuvraj' (Rahul Gandhi) had to skip the ongoing session of Parliament and indulge in various 'natakbaazi' (theatrics) to resurrect the party in UP," she said.

During the five-day Jan Sampark Yatra, which concluded on Saturday, the Congress general secretary had said: "There is an elephant sitting in Lucknow and this elephant is eating your (people's) money. This time the people of UP have decided to throw away this elephant."

Referring to the symbols of the Congress (hand), the BJP (lotus) and the SP (cycle), she said: "Chalega haathi, udegi dhool, na rahega panja, na chalegi cycle, na rahega phool (the elephant will move on triumphantly, the hand, cycle and lotus will be swept away by the dust raised).

Addressing a Dalit-backward workers' conference at Ramabai Ambedkar maidan, she said, "Gandhi told the people if voted to power the Congress would make UP the number one state in the country. The Congress ruled UP for 40 years. Due to poverty and backwardness, there was large migration during this period. Today Rahul calls these migrants beggars. If the Congress could not make UP a developed state in its 40 years' rule, how will Rahul accomplish the task in 10 years?"

Replying to Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh's allegation of irregularities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MGNREGS) in UP, Mayawati said: "Under the MGNREGS, people are getting 100 days' job a year and stay unemployed for 265 days. If the BSP secures power at the Centre, I will get the law amended to pave the way for 365 days' job to the unemployed."