Sadhvi row: Mayawati slams BJP for playing 'dalit card'

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Friday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for playing the ‘Dalit card’ to defend Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti over her controversial remarks and claimed she did not belong to the community.

She took objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal that the minister's apology be accepted keeping in mind her background, saying it was improper as it meant making "allegations against one community".

She said if the minister is incompetent or has made an objectionable statement, then she should be removed and another person from that community should replace her.

"The BJP is saying that she is a Dalit woman and this is untrue. Playing the Dalit card in not right. The minister neither belongs to the Dalit community nor does she hail from scheduled caste community. She is from the backward Nishad caste,” Mayawati said.

"The prime minister claims that her background should be kept in mind. It would be improper to bring the whole Nishad community into this. There are many including MPs from the Nishad community in their party. If the minister is incompetent or has made an objectionable statement, then she should be removed and another person from that community should replace her," she added.

She added that instead of putting a full stop to the issue, the "BJP is playing the Dalit card".

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that being a woman does not give the minister license to commit a crime.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury said the prime minister's statement was "condemnable".