Centre adopting double standard in dealing with West Bengal, Bihar: Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP president Mayawati on Wednesday accused the centre of adopting double standards in dealing with state governments on the basis of whether they are led by the BJP or its rival parties.

"The BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is adopting double standards while dealing with Bihar and West Bengal governments as the former is led by their own coalition and the latter by TMC's Mamata Banerjee," she said in a statement in Lucknow.

"Though the West Bengal government is being targeted for asking police to act sternly against those instigating riots by taking out a yatra, in a similar case in Bihar, the government there is out to save the son of a union minister," Mayawati said.

She was apparently referring to Arjit Shashwat, son of Union minister of state Ashwini Kumar Choubey who was recently booked for allegedly inciting communal passion by taking out an unauthourised' procession in Bhagalpur town.

In her statement, Mayawati asked, "Why this double standard on the part of the central government on the issue of law and order and amity".

She recalled that communal riots had taken place in Kasganj area of Uttar Pradesh when a 'tiranga yatra' was taken out allegedly "without permission".

"It seems the BJP has made it a fashion to take out yatras and display firearms and this needs to be strictly dealt with. This can happen only when the central government works in a just and unbiased manner which has not been seen so far," Mayawati said.

In Bihar's Bhagalpur, a procession without prior permission led to communal violence and in West Bengal sword-wielding activists defied the state government's ban on armed rallies on Ram Navami leading to trouble.