Congress turns blue in UP

Lucknow, Aug 20 The Congress in Uttar Pradesh turned 'blue' on Thursday, leaving several red faces in the party.

When UPCC President Ajay Kumar Lallu, earlier in the day, led a delegation to Azamgarh to visit the family of slain Dalit sarpanch Satyamev Jayate, majority of the party leaders were seen wearing blue 'gamchas'.

The shade of blue was strikingly similar to the shade of blue that is the colour of Bahujan Samaj Party.

The blue 'gamchas' evoked a strong reaction from within the party.

A Congress MLA said: "It now seems that we are being sub-let to the BSP. Our leaders normally wearing tricolored 'gamchas' but they have opted for blue. We do not know what message our leaders are trying to send by doing this."

When contacted, at least, two party spokesmen refused to comment on the issue.

UP Congress media convenor Lalan Kumar, however, reacted strongly and said: "The BSP does not have the copyright over blue colour, or for that matter, any other colour.

"The Congress has always fought for the rights of Dalits. Has Mayawati reached out to the family of the Dalit sarpanch who was shot dead last week?

"The blue colour represents the ideology of Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar and is also a part of the Congress ideology."

( With inputs from IANS )