Crimes in BJP-ruled states defaming country: Mayawati

BSP president Mayawati on Thursday said the incidents of crime on communal and caste lines in the BJP-ruled states are "defaming" the entire country and even embarrasses the prime minister.

Her reaction came after the alleged lynching of Tabrez Ansari in the BJP-governed Jharkhand and some other similar incidents elsewhere in the recent past.

Ansari was thrashed by a mob for alleged theft on June 18 and a video had emerged which purportedly showed that he was forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman" in Jharkhand's Saraikela Kharsawan district.

"Why are the BJP governments allowing crimes of communal frenzy and casteism which are not only defaming those states, but also the entire country and even embarrasses the prime minister," Mayawati tweeted.

"As of now, police and government officials are also at the receiving end of this new problem," the BSP president said.

In another tweet, she termed as "embarrassing" the Niti Aayog report on Health Index under which Uttar Pradesh has remained at the bottom.

"The Niti Aayog report that Uttar Pradesh is the most backward state in the country on the issue of people's health is the most embarrassing for the government," she said.

"What is the use of having a double engine government of the BJP both at the Centre and the state? What is the use of this kind of development for crores of people whose lives are like hell," Mayawati posed.

According to the Niti Aayog's second round of Health Index, Kerala has occupied the top slot in terms of health performance among large states followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, whereas Uttar Pradesh and Bihar remained at the bottom.

In response, State Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh blamed the previous governments for the poor Health Index.

"We have inherited certain things from the governments that came before 2017. We inherited their failure and tried to improve it as much as we can. We did make many improvements," he claimed.