Lucknow: A minister in the Mayawati government has kicked up a storm here by dubbing Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and several other prominent statesmen "mafia" and "criminals".
The ministers statement sparked anger across the state. The Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Bharatiya Janata Party demanded his immediate dismissal. Agitators burnt his effigies and tore down hoardings of chief minister Mayawati.
"If [BSP leader and history-sheeter] DP Yadav is called mafia only because criminal cases have been registered against him, then Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Chaudhary Charan Singh were also mafia as cases were registered against them too," minister of state for animal husbandry and dairy development Awadhpal Singh Yadav told reporters at his residence in Etah on Monday.
If the number of cases registered against someone is the criteria for deciding who is a bigger criminal, then Mulayam Singh Yadav is the biggest criminal, Singh said, adding that law and order was at its worst under the Samajwadi Party. "Since Mayawati has taken over, the rule of law has been established in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Opposition leaders cried blue murder after the statement was reported in the media on Tuesday. "Not only the minister but this entire government is mentally ill," said Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh. "He should be sacked immediately."
"The minister is mentally bankrupt," said senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. "He should not stay in office for another moment."
"Mayawati should apologise for the ministers statement, and the minister should be sent to jail for insulting the father of the nation and other respected leaders," said senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari.
Protesters led by Congress leaders burnt Singh's effigies and pulled down hoardings of Mayawati in Etah. In Lucknow, agitators staged a dharna before Bose's statue to demand the ministers sacking.
Singh remained unapologetic. "I stand by my statement," he said on Tuesday. "The media has quoted me out of context. I did not call Gandhi, Nehru, or any other leader a criminal. I only meant to say that no one should be labelled a criminal just because cases have been registered against him."
Neither Mayawati nor the BSP has reacted to the incident.
