Accusing the opposition parties of unnecessarily raking up the issue of garland made of currency notes for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the BSP today said tradition of felicitating leaders by offering them or weighing them in money is followed by all political parties since long.

"The tradition of felicitating leaders by offering them garlands made of currency notes, silver or gold crowns and weighing them in coins and contributing towards party fund this way is being followed by all the political parties since long," BSP state president Swami Prasad Maurya said here in a statement.

He said BSP filed annual income tax return on a regular basis.

Maurya claimed the opposition parties were "frustrated" with the "success" of BSP's rally and projected the garland incident as being the first of its kind.

The opposition leaders have no right to raise hue and cry over voluntary contribution made by party workers, Maurya said.

He alleged that driven by anti-dalit mentality, the opposition parties made all efforts to create obstacles in the rally.

The opposition parties first filed a PIL in the court and when this attempt failed, their leaders gave baseless statements in the media, he said.

He alleged that as part of a conspiracy, a beehive near the rally site was disturbed at the time when BSP supremo Mayawati was addressing the rally with the sole objection of engineering a stampede.

But the party supremo showed courage and composure and continued with her address, otherwise it could have resulted in a stampede, he said.