Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi speaks about derogatory comments against BSP supremo Mayawati and the flogging of Dalit youths in Gujarat.
How much will the Dalit issue and the controversy over Mayawati spoil BJP’s Dalit outreach efforts?
We have taken immediate action. We have removed the leader as a party vice-president and from the primary membership of the party. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has made statements in both Houses condemning the comments. BJP leaders have distanced themselves from the comments.
Will the Opposition cash in on the issue?
It will boomerang on the Opposition, especially the Congress, which has been trying to make a big issue out of it in view of the coming Assembly polls. The kind of political tourism that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is indulging in by visiting Una in Gujarat will not work. Earlier he had visited Bhatta Parsaul, and it had no bearing on the Dalit votebank. Leaders like Rahul and Arvind Kejriwal will make a beeline for Una, but overall the Gujarat government has done a good job in the case.
Mayawati wanted police action against Dayashankar.
This is how misinformation is spread. Uttar Pradesh is ruled by SP and not BJP. If an FIR was to be filed, the SP government should have done it. We condemn our party leader’s comments, but BSP leaders are using derogatory words against Dayashankar’s daughter and wife.