Seven people have been arrested on the charges of garlanding two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders with shoes, blackening their faces and parading them outside the party office in Jaipur on Tuesday, 22 October.
Rajasthan BSP president Sumrat Singh lodged an FIR at the Sindhi camp police station, following which the accused were arrested on Wednesday.
The BSP workers were alleging corruption in ticket distribution in the party in the Assembly polls last year.
The accused had garlanded BSP national coordinator Ramji Gautam and former state president Sitaram with shoes and blackened their faces on Tuesday.
They also made Gautam sit on a donkey and paraded him and Sitaram outside the party office at Bani Park.
“Our workers are upset with the leaders. The workers were active on the ground for five years but parachute candidates from the BJP and Congress were given ticket in lieu of money. BSP workers and leaders are being ignored and exploited,” said a BSP worker who was present there.
According to a BSP worker, they had held three demonstrations in the state but the leaders did not convey their plight to BSP chief Mayawati.
“Therefore, we had to take this step,” he said.
"Seven persons have been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said.
Those who were arrested have been identified as Nisar Khan, Babulal, Deepak Kumar, Rahul, Pooran Parnami, Neeraj and Vijendra.
Mayawati Dissolves Rajsthan’s BSP Committee
Following the incident, Mayawati had dissolved the state committee of the BSP and lashed out at the Congress.
In a tweet in Hindi, she alleged that the Congress first indulged in horse-trading and now it was getting BSP leaders attacked in Rajasthan.
“The Congress party first caused defections among the BSP MLAs and is now getting attacked senior people in order to harm the movement. It is most condemnable and shameful. Congress is setting a very wrong tradition against the movement and people can give a befitting reply.”Mayawati, BSP Leader
“Therefore, the Congress should desist from such disgusting antics,” she said in another tweet.
However, on being asked if Congress had any role to play in the incident, “Rajendra Singh Yadav, Minister of State (MoS) said, “People spread rumours. The police will look into the incident. Today in Rajasthan, a person who is 200-400 kms away can say anything. The police will investigate and the culprit will be punished.”
In September, all the six MLAs of the BSP in Rajasthan had joined the Congress as a block to jump provisions in anti-defection law.
The BSP was the largest party offering support to the Congress government, which had been short of a majority since elections in late 2018.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
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