Mayawati slams media and BJP for distorting facts

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Apr. 05 (ANI): Responding to reports about the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) orders issued in May and October 2007 that were similar to the recent Supreme Court's amends to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, BSP supremo Mayawati blamed the media for distorting truths.

"Some sections of media are distorting the truth and presenting it before the people to show BSP in a bad light. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not been able to come to terms with its loss in Uttar Pradesh by-elections. An anti-BJP environment is slowly building up in the nation," said Mayawati.

During Mayawati's reign as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the then state secretary, Shambhu Nath, issued a letter on May 20, 2007, suggesting only serious crimes should be dealt with under the Act.

In another letter on October 29 issued by the then Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar, it was suggested that frivolous complaints that see an innocent booked under the provisions of the Act should see the complainant booked under section 182 of the Indian Penal Code.

Although the BSP had condemned the incidents of violence across the country, it had supported the April 2 Bharat Bandh called by various Dalit outfits to protest the Supreme Court's rulings that allegedly diluted the Act.

Claiming the orders her government passed in 2007 were for helping the police officials maintain a healthy law and order system in the state, she said, "Sometimes, for their personal vendettas, people use the SCs/STs as pawns and make them register fake complaints; we took measures to prevent such instances." (ANI)