ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Mayawati, Opposition flay BJP for 'anti-Dalit' policies

Bahujan Samaj Party members, with the support of the entire Opposition in the Lok Sabha, today sharply attacked the ''anti-Dalit'' policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party and protested against the arrest of BSP leader Kanshi Ram who was leading a demonstration in the capital.

While the BSP's Mayawati, who rushed to the well of the House with her party colleagues several times, said there was police firing and lathi-charge on the demonstrators, Home Minister L K Advani said there was no firing. However, he said he would ascertain facts and place them before the House.

As soon question hour was over, Mayawati and her party colleagues raised the issue and rushed to the well of the House. Speaker G M C Balayogi had a tough time in regulating the BSP members who were not willing to listen to him. Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar urged the Speaker to allow Mayawati to make her submission, after the ministers laid the papers on the table of the House, Mayawati was allowed to make her submission.

Mayawati said in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP government was suppressing the voice of the Dalits, the oppressed and the minorities. The treasury benches in the Lok Sabha were also being the same, she said.

While all the statues in Parivartan Park in Lucknow had been lighted up properly, the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar had been ignored, she said, to the shouting of 'shame shame' by the Opposition. When BJP members disrupted her, she said they would not allow the House to function if their submissions were not heard.

She said the state home secretary had issued a circular to all district collectors to prevent the movement of BSP workers for their rally on May 21, and said the collectors were even threatened with action if they failed to do so.

She said democracy was being murdered and throttled by preventing demonstrations. She also said her party would not tolerate any disrespect to Dr Ambedkar.

Home Minister L K Advani told the Lok Sabha that there was no firing on the BSP march in New Delhi.

In a statement, the home minister rebutted charges of the BSP leaders that their party leaders were not allowed to take out a peaceful demonstration, and said the protesters went berserk and resorted to stone-pelting when prevented by the police from deviating from the route for which permission was granted.

He said the riotous BSP workers smashed two police booths and injured 14 policemen, including a deputy commissioner of police. Eleven demonstrators also were injured.

The police resorted to force and burst four teargas shells when it failed to control the aggressive activists. As many as 14 BSP activists, including BSP chief Kanshi Ram, were arrested.

Kanshi Ram was later released.

Apparently dissatisfied by the home minister's statement on the incident, Pawar rose to ask Advani to make a statement on Mayawati's specific charges that the BSP activists were not allowed to exercise their democratic rights in Lucknow and why the UP government had issued instructions to the police to prevent the BSP workers from reaching Lucknow to participate in the rally last week

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report