Mayawati demands dismissal of Maharashtra government

Lucknow, October 30 (IANS) Reacting sharply to the unabated attacks on north Indians in Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday demanded immediate dismissal of the Maharashtra government.

'Continued violence by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) against people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who had gone to Maharashtra to earn a livelihood was unpardonable,' Mayawati said at a press conference here.

'Since the government in Maharashtra has failed miserably in fulfilling their duty of protecting the lives of these people, I am strongly of the view that the central government must dismiss such a state government and take stern and effective measures to ensure the safety of people belonging to UP,' she said.

'After all, it was the duty of the central government to uphold and protect the Constitutional right of every citizen,' she added.

Flaying the Maharashtra chief minister for failing to protect the freedom of a citizen to live and work anywhere in the country, Mayawati said that 'any chief minister who expresses his inability to uphold the safety and security of the life of a common citizen, has no business to continue in office.'

She said: 'In fact, the Maharashtra chief minister's admission that it was not possible for him to protect the lives of north Indians living in his state had not only added fuel to fire but also indicated some kind of tacit official support to the anti-north Indian tirade.'

She lambasted union Ministers Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan, both hailing from Bihar, for their condemnation of the goings-on in Maharashtra.

Terming their anti-MNS statements as mere 'lip service' and 'farce', Mayawati said: 'If these two central ministers actually meant business, they could have got their government to initiate stern action, or else they could have stepped down from their respective offices to launch a movement in support of the people of Bihar.'

She also flayed the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party for 'remaining mute spectators' to the 'continued targeting of helpless Biharis and UP wallahs'.

Mumbai has of late seen a spurt in violence against non-Maharashtrians, led by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of Raj Thackeray. Various political parties have accused the state government of not doing enough to control the situation.