<p> Apparently wary of the rise of the Dalit outfit Bheem Sena, which is attracting Dalit community members, especially youths, after it took on the powerful ‘Thakur’ community, BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday hit the streets after several years to win back Dalit support.<br /><br />Mayawati visited Shabbirpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, about 500 km from here, where members of the Thakur community had torched dozens of houses belonging to Dalits a few ago back following a dispute over taking out a procession. Mayawati, who drove down to the village from Delhi, visited the victims of the violence and announced monetary assistance for them.<br /><br />“The incident at Shabbirpur had occurred owing to the biased and discriminatory attitude of the state government,” she told reporters.<br /><br />She said that the Yogi Adityanath government had failed to ensure the safety of the Dalits and vowed to launch an agitation against the government if attacks on Dalits did not stop. Anti-government slogans were raised when the BSP supremo arrived at the village.<br /><br />Sources said that minor clashes broke out in the village again on Tuesday a few hours before Mayawati’s visit. <br /><br />“She had visited Shabbirpur almost over three decades ago with BSP leaders,” said a BSP office-bearer here on Tuesday.<br /><br />Sources said that Mayawati was wary of the rising influence of the Bheem Sena whose founder Chandrashekhar is wanted in connection with the recent violence at Saharanpur.<br /><br />Tension flares up after Maya’s visit<br /><br />Five members from the Dalit community were injured after they were attacked by members of the Thakur community at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur district soon after the BSP supremo Mayawati’s visit on Tuesday, DHNS reports from Lucknow.<br /><br />A source in the police said that a few Dalit youths had torched a house and pelted stones at houses of Thakurs in the village before the visit of the BSP leader. Security personnel had been deployed at the village. <br /></p>
<p> Apparently wary of the rise of the Dalit outfit Bheem Sena, which is attracting Dalit community members, especially youths, after it took on the powerful ‘Thakur’ community, BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday hit the streets after several years to win back Dalit support.<br /><br />Mayawati visited Shabbirpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, about 500 km from here, where members of the Thakur community had torched dozens of houses belonging to Dalits a few ago back following a dispute over taking out a procession. Mayawati, who drove down to the village from Delhi, visited the victims of the violence and announced monetary assistance for them.<br /><br />“The incident at Shabbirpur had occurred owing to the biased and discriminatory attitude of the state government,” she told reporters.<br /><br />She said that the Yogi Adityanath government had failed to ensure the safety of the Dalits and vowed to launch an agitation against the government if attacks on Dalits did not stop. Anti-government slogans were raised when the BSP supremo arrived at the village.<br /><br />Sources said that minor clashes broke out in the village again on Tuesday a few hours before Mayawati’s visit. <br /><br />“She had visited Shabbirpur almost over three decades ago with BSP leaders,” said a BSP office-bearer here on Tuesday.<br /><br />Sources said that Mayawati was wary of the rising influence of the Bheem Sena whose founder Chandrashekhar is wanted in connection with the recent violence at Saharanpur.<br /><br />Tension flares up after Maya’s visit<br /><br />Five members from the Dalit community were injured after they were attacked by members of the Thakur community at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur district soon after the BSP supremo Mayawati’s visit on Tuesday, DHNS reports from Lucknow.<br /><br />A source in the police said that a few Dalit youths had torched a house and pelted stones at houses of Thakurs in the village before the visit of the BSP leader. Security personnel had been deployed at the village. <br /></p>