Lucknow, July 16: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was detained by police in Ghaziabad late tonight and booked for making allegedly derogatory statements against Chief Minister Mayawati.
Police said she was arrested on National Highway 24 on her way to Delhi.” A case has been filed under Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between groups) and 509 (insulting a woman’s modesty) and Sections 3 (1) and 10 of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The arrest came after BSP activists ransacked Joshi’s Lucknow house — near the CM’s office — and set ablaze four vehicles parked there.
Earlier, at a meeting in Moradabad, Joshi slammed the CM’s decision to send the DGP to visit Dalits who were victims of crime, including rape. In that context, she is alleged to have made a “derogatory statement” against Mayawati.
Joshi said: “I am a product of the women’s movement. I have respect for women.” She reiterated her statement that it is “shameful” that the DGP travels by helicoptor and gives Rs 25000 as compensation to victims. “If my statement has hurt the CM, I deeply regret it,” she said.
–Agencies