BSP rejects allegations levelled by Dayashankar Singh's mother

Lucknow: BSP on Friday rejected the allegations levelled in the FIR lodged against its leaders and workers for using "abusive language" during Thursday's protest and termed it was an attempt to cover the "crime" of expelled BJP leader Dayashankar Singh.

Hours after Singh's mother Tetra Devi lodged an FIR at Hazratganj police station against the "abusive" utterances against women members of the family during BSP's protest on Thursday, BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui dubbed it as BJP's tactics to distract public attention and regain political ground lost by it due to Singh's abusive remarks.

"It is a pre-planned strategy of BJP to distract attention from the basic issue," Siddiqui told reporters here. He said allegations levelled by Singh's mother in her FIR were "baseless and false."

"BSP respect and honour the women of all sections," he said.

About the charge that BSP leaders asked for presenting the daughter and sister of Singh in the dharna on Thursday, Siddiqui said its meaning has been "wrongly inferred".

"It was demanded to present daughter and sister of Singh, just to ask them if they favoured with the derogatory remarks made by the expelled leader against BSP supreme Mayawati," he sought to clarify.

Asked if the party was apologetic of the remarks made in the protest specially against Singh's minor daughter, the BSP leader said that there was no question of apologising.

"What can anyone do if someone takes offence out of the blue", he asked.

Siddiqui however, justified calling Singh a "dog", saying that the kind of derogatory language he used against the BSP chief, is used only by a beast and not by a human.

The BSP leader claimed that Dayashankar Singh made derogatory references to Mayawati as part of a "planned conspiracy" of the BJP to cover up what was happening in Gujarat.

Now by putting Singh's wife in the forefront, BJP has tried to give a new turn to the issue of his comments seeing the political damage being faced by it, he said.

Siddiqui who yesterday led the protest said that the administration had assured arrest of Singh within 36 hours and if it was not done the party workers would not remainsilent.

"If Singh is not arrested within 36 hours, our workerswill resume demonstration and dharnas at all divisionalheadquarter barring Lucknow on July 25 after that we will decide our next strategy," he said.

Siddiqui said that there was large scale resentment among party workers on "derogatory language" used by Singh against BSP supremo Mayawati.