Mayawati takes on BJP, says 'would have jailed Ram Shankar Katheria'

BSP supremo Mayawati asserted that the alleged hate speeches being made under the BJP-led NDA regime has degraded the communal harmony.

New Delhi: Asserting that the alleged hate speeches being made under the BJP-led NDA regime has degraded the communal harmony in the country, BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday criticised the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh for not initiating action against Minister of State for HRD Ram Shankar Katheria.

"From the time, this government has been in power, there has been a rise in the number of hate speeches by various RSS, BJP members and even the central ministers. This has degraded the communal harmony in the country," Mayawati told the media outside Parliament here.

"This is not the first such incident in Agra. They take the oath of the Constitution and then they commit anti-constitutional crimes. I feel those ministers, who give hate speeches, must be booked," she added.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister asked the ruling BJP at the Centre to expel ministers like Katheria.

"We condemn whatever Katheria and his friends have said.But this is a matter of concern because the Samajwadi Party Government hasn't taken any action on them. Had there been my government (in Uttar Pradesh), I would have sent them to jail," she said.

The Opposition has sought the resignation of Katheria over his inflammatory comment while participating in a condolence meeting in Agra. (ANI)