Saharanpur: Attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday held the state administration responsible for caste-based clashes that have occurred in Saharanpur district this month.
Had the administration permitted the installation of an Ambedkar statue as well as a procession on ‘Maharana Pratap Jayanti’, the violence would have never occurred, she said.
In Saharanpur, Mayawati met those affected by the violence and demanded compensation for them.
In Muzaffarnagar also, Mayawati lashed at the state government for the violence.
“The district administration of Saharanpur did not allow Dalits to install a bust of Ambedkar, while the procession to mark the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap was taken out without any permission,” Mayawati said.
“The Dalits just reacted to this discrimination,” she said told media-persons.
On May 5, a Dalit group in Shabbirpur village had objected to a procession of Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of Rajput king Maharana Pratap, triggering violence, in which one person was killed and over 15 were injured.
Mayawati on Tuesday demanded that false cases lodged against different persons should be withdrawn and the disputes resolved amicably. Dalits and Rajputs should live together in harmony, she said.
Referring to her party’s rule in UP, Mayawati said the BSP had never allowed inter-caste riots and had always worked for communal harmony.
She claimed that incidents of crime including rape and murder had spurted ever since the BJP came to power in UP.
Mayawati said that the state authorities had not given helicopter landing permission to her and she had to visit Saharanpur by road.
However, it provided an opportunity to greet thousands of my supporters on the way, the former UP chief minister said.
PTI