Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said on Thursday that the BJP should have sacked Dayashankar Singh, its vice-president in Uttar Pradesh who made objectionable remarks against her, instead of just expelling him from all posts.
The four-time U.P. Chief Minister found support from most Members of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, which discussed recent atrocities against Dalits in various parts of the country, including the Una incident of Gujarat where four Dalits were beaten up by cow vigilante groups for skinning a cow’s carcass.
Ms. Mayawati said, “It’s a positive step that the BJP has expelled him (Dayashankar Singh) from all party posts; it would have been better had they sacked him. We were expecting BJP to lodge an FIR against him.”
On Wednesday, the BJP removed Dayashankar Singh from all party posts and suspended his membership for six years after he invoked the analogy of prostitution to accuse Ms. Mayawati of selling party tickets.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the Una incident, and said a case had been registered against seven people. He said he would request the State government to bring the perpetrators to justice within six months.
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thanwar Chand Gehlot said the Opposition parties were politicising the issue. “Though the incident took place six days ago, the violence in the region spread only a day after the incident was discussed in the Rajya Sabha on July 18. On 19 July, there was violence and arson,” he said.
She said the support of women leaders like the Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu who made a mark for themselves beating several odds has strengthened her morale.
She also reiterated her demand for reservation in promotion in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes officers.
Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav sought a ban on ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow vigilantes) operating in some parts of the country and said there was a “Taliban-like attitude.”
It was matter of shame that even after 70 years of independence, atrocities against Dalits, especially women, were increasing, he said.
The Congress and other members said the incident only exposes the “Gujarat model” being propagated by Prime Minister Modi.
