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Mayawati comes under fire for holding grand rally while Bareilly burns
PTI
Monday, March 15, 2010 21:25 IST
New Delhi, Lucknow: Even as she came under attack in Parliament over
the communal violence in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh chief minister
Mayawati today held a rally in Lucknow in a big show of strength and
slammed the Congress for pushing the Women's Reservation Bill.
Calling the Congress anti-Dalit, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader
announced that demonstrations will be staged against the bill across
the country on April 14, birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr BR
Ambedkar.
The rally held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the BSP and
attended by tens of thousands of people came under intense
attack from Mayawati's arch rival, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
"While Bareilly is on fire, the Mayawati government is spending Rs200
crore of public money on a rally," Yadav said in the Lok Sabha.
Yadav was joined by Congress and BJP members in demanding
the Centre's intervention to bring back normalcy in the riot-hit town.
They attacked the chief minister for her government's handling of the
situation. The Union home ministry has sought a report from the Uttar
Pradesh government on the circumstances that led to the situation in
Bareilly.
Blue, the colour of the BSP, dominated Lucknow's cityscape ahead of
the rally, touted as the biggest ever in the state.
Hitting back at the opposition parties criticising her for installing
her own statues throughout the state, Mayawati said the law does not
prevent one from erecting statues of living persons.
In her address, the chief minister said, "The Congress and other
political parties have always been against Dalits and this is evident
from the fact that no separate quota has been carved out for SC/ST
women in the 33% reservation proposed in the Women's Reservation
Bill."
"From all those people criticising installation of my statues, I would
like to ask them in which book of law has it been written that statues
of living persons cannot be erected," Mayawati said.
She said her statues were being installed as per the written will of
BSP founder Kanshi Ram.
"Kanshi Ramji in his will has directed me to install my statues along
with those of him," she claimed.
"The Congress people claim themselves to be the biggest sympathisers
of women and are praising Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia
Gandhi. In reality, whatever rights women have got in the field of
education, employment and politics, it is due to Ambedkar," she said.
During zero hour In the Lok Sabha, Yadav raised the issue of the
violence in Bareilly, which has been under curfew for a fortnight.
"What did the state government do to prevent it and bring it under
control?" he asked.
His party colleague, Shailendra Kumar, sought the Centre's
intervention and demanded a statement on the situation.
Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav, who criticised the state
government for preventing political leaders from visiting the town and
nearby areas, said the Centre should make a statement on the situation
today itself.
"In the last 10 years, Bareilly was never under curfew for 14
continuous days," he said.
Joining the attack on the Mayawati government, Jagdambika Pal,
Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh, said, "The state government has failed
on the law and order front and it appears to be helpless. The Centre
should intervene."
BJP members were agitated that Maneka Gandhi, who
represents nearby Aonla, was not allowed to have her say despite repeated pleas.
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