Lucknow: BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday
questioned Congress President Sonia Gandhi's "silence" over
the UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi's alleged derogatory
statement against her and alleged that it was done at the
instruction of Congress High Command.
"The most painful thing is that Sonia Gandhi has
remained silent over the issue. She has neither condemned this
humiliating, uncivilised and derogatory statement nor has she
taken any action against her at the party level.”
"This clearly shows that the humiliating statement by
Joshi was made at the instance of Congress High Command," the
UP Chief Minister said at a press conference adding the
comments were "not at all pardonable".
Denying that her party workers were involved in the
attack on Joshi's house in Lucknow, Mayawati said, "there is a
doubt of the hand of Congress itself in the incident". The
government has ordered an impartial enquiry into the incident,
she said.
She also sought to put Congress in the dock over the
SC/ST act saying the provision of compensation for rape and
murder victims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was
made by the Congress government at the Centre and not the BSP
government.
The BSP chief said if her party comes to power at the
Centre it would repeal the existing SC/ST law and will bring a
new law which covers women victims of all sections and esnures
stringent punishment like death sentence or life imprisonment
to perpetrators.
Maintaining that her party does not agree with the
existing Act's provision for monetary compenation, she said
that it hurt the sentiments of Dalits but added that the
states had to follow the provisions of a central law.
Accusing Congress of having an "anti Dalit" mentality,
the BSP supremo said, "Had they not be having anti Dalit
mentality and not been a victim of inferiority complex towards
Dalits, it would have made similar provision for women of
Sarva Samaj (all sections), who face such crimes as well.."
Referring to a book "Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna" penned
by Joshi about her father, Mayawati said that in her book she
had used very strong terms against Gandhi family and alleged
that Sonia Gandhi ignored all this for "political opportunism"
and made her the party chief for UP.
She said that there was strong resentment among BSP
workers over her comments and they wanted to hold protests
across the nation but she intervened to stop them as she did
not want public to suffer beacuse of law and order problems.
Mayawati said last night's incident at Joshi's house
was done to divert the attention of the people from her
remarks.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, July 16, 2009, 16:08