Mayawati unleashes vendetta

“It is unfortunate that Ms Gandhi has chosen to make such a lady (Joshi) the president of her party’s state unit”, Mayawati went on to add.

The chief minister rejected allegations that BSP workers led by an MLA had ransacked and torched Joshi’s house in Lucknow and looted the valuables while the police remained a mute spectator.

“The BSP has nothing to do with the incident. It appears to be the handiwork of the Congress workers...an inquiry has been initiated to bring out the truth”, she said.

Capital punishment
Referring to the Joshi’s remarks on payment of compensation to the dalit victims of rape and murders, Mayawati said that there was such a provision in the SC/ST Act, which had been enacted during the Congress rule. “Our party favours capital punishment or life sentence for such crimes”, she added.

Meanwhile Congress workers held demonstrations across UP in protest against the vandalism by BSP workers at Joshi’s house and her arrest. Police used force to disperse the protesters and hundreds of them were taken into custody.

Ms Joshi allegedly, while speaking at a party meeting at Moradabad on Wednesday evening, had decried the State government for paying monetary compensation to dalit rape victims.

“The state police chief has been heli-hopping to the villages where dalit women were raped with compensation of Rs 25,000...the women should throw the money back at Mayawati’s face and say that we are ready to pay you (Mayawati) Rs one crore if the same thing happens to her”, Ms Joshi allegedly said.

Ms Joshi was later arrested in Ghaziabad while on way to Delhi and was produced before a court in Moradabad on Thursday. She was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after her bail plea was turned down. She has been charged under the SC/ST Act, which is a non-bailable offence, besides section 153 A (delivering provocative speech) and section 109 of the IPC.

Hearing on her fresh bail application was deferred till Friday after the police failed to produce the case diary in the court.

Ms Joshi, who claimed that her remarks had been twisted and had tendered an apology in the night itself, accused Mayawati and her supporters of looting her house and setting it on fire.

A delegation of the state Congress leaders met UP governor T V Rajeswar and submitted a memorandum urging him to send a report to the Centre on the law and order situation in UP. The governor has sought a report from the state government.
Police have arrested five persons in connection with the attack on Ms Joshi’s house.