BSP demonstrates in UP, Mulayam's effigy burned

Lucknow, Nov 30: BSP today staged demonstration at all the district headquarters in Uttar Pradesh and burnt chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in effigy to protest the desecration of Dr Ambedkar's statue and the ''misrule'' of the state government.

The demonstration went off peacefully in the state with the BSP workers also protesting the ''ignorance'' of late Kanshi Ram by the Centre and the state.

In some places, tension rose when police tried to prevent BSP activitist from burning the effigy, but no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

In the state capital, the BSP workers took out a procession from Chowk to the collectorate and later burnt the Chief Minister's effigy.

Addressing the gathering, the leaders blamed the centre, BJP and the UP government for conspiring to insult the dalits.

''There are several instances including ransacking of Dr Ambedkar's statue when all the governments joined hands to insult the dalits and their leaders,'' they alleged.

The agitational programme is said to have countered efforts of other political parties, including the SP to term BSP as 'anti-Muslim'.

BSP leaders also alleged a high-level conspiracy to implicate BSP president Mayawati in the Taj Heritage Corridor (THC) case after the Supreme Court disallowed the CBI plea to give her a clean chit.

Today's agitational programme is the launch of election campaign for the party, highlighting the over three-year-old ''misrule'' of the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government.

Meanwhile, report from other parts of Uttar Pradesh said the demonstration was peaceful.

UNI