Samajwadi party demands arrest of Mayawati

LUCKNOW: Demanding arrest of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for allegedly showing disrespect to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Samajwadi party today staged statewide protests and submitted memoranda to the Governor in this regard.

"The way in which Mayawati showed disrespect to Patel by dismantling his statue in Pratapgarh district was not acceptable to the party. We demand arrest of Mayawati and local DM and SP," party state president Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters here.

He said senior party leaders including MPs Mohan Singh, Dharmendra Yadav, Veerpal Singh and others held demonstrations at their respective district headquarters and sent memoranda addressed to the Governor through their respective district magistrates.

The controversy erupted when the local administration in Pratapgarh disallowed SP MP Akshay Pratap Singh alias Gopalji and former state minister and independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh from installing Patel's statue.

After a hue and cry, the state government later permitted the installation of the statue.