Mayawati should resign over torching incident: BJP

Terming Friday's Maharajganj incident in which ten people were charred to death, as an indicator of the prevailing jungleraj in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's resignation.

"The Maharajganj incident where a village head was shot dead and later 10 people were burned alive during a violent protest in Digahi village on Friday is a blot on the state government and has proved that jungleraj and rule of terror prevails in the state," BJP UP unit president Surya Pratap Shahi told mediapersons.

Referring to the torching of a man during a police raid in Fatehpur district and murder of three members of a family in Jaunpur, Shahi alleged that the government has failed in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities.

"The BJP demands resignation from chief minister Mayawati. If she does not tender her resignation then the centre should dismiss the government," he said. The BJP president said that the party would launch a massive agitation against the government soon.

Shahi said that fact finding committees of the party would visit such places and examine the situation, after which the strategy of the agitation will be chalked out.  Agitated over the murder of village head Dina Nath Singh in Digahi village, an irate mob torched the house of two accused Ayodhya Dubey and Dwarika Dubey, resulting in the death of 10 persons, including five children.

Shahi alleged that the manner in which the state government was attempting to crush the agitations of opposition parties seemed like it has left behind the brutality of British rule.  He claimed that recently deputy inspector general of police Lucknow D K Thakur crushed people under his boot during an agitation.

"Though pictures and news were published, no action was taken against him, which indicates that the police has gone out of bounds under the patronship of the government," Shahi alleged. "We demand the centre to sort out the demand of Jats and given them reservation," he said.