Jaya Prada meets Meira Kumar, raises red beacon issue

New Delhi, April 16: Against the backdrop of controversy over Uttar Pradesh officials removing red beacon from her vehicle, Rampur MP Jaya Prada today met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar alleging violation of Parliamentary privileges.

Jaya Prada, an unattached MP from Samajwadi Party, met Kumar along with expelled SP leader Amar Singh to hand over a memorandum seeking protection and demanding "stringent action" against the officials involved.

Earlier, Singh sent an almost identical letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in the issue. An enforcement official of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) had recently penalised Jaya Prada's vehicle for using red beacon.

She alleged Additional Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Kaushalendra Pratap Yadav, who handed her a copy of the challan, misbehaved with and abused her.

She claimed the official was upset as she was the "bone of contention" in UP Minister Mohd Azam Khan's life. Khan, who also belongs to Rampur, is the arch rival of Jaya Prada and was upset when Mulayam Singh Yadav decided to field her in the Lok Sabha elections.

She alleged the official threatened her that if she does not stop coming to Rampur, "then besides the red beacon light, my modesty can also be outraged."

PTI