Lucknow: BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday met the family of the two girls raped and murdered in Badaun last week, and laid the entire blame on the Akhilesh Yadav government. She also visited the site where the bodies of the girls were found hanging from a tree, and gave Rs 10 lakhs as assistance to the family.
The BSP chief’s visit comes a day after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited Badaun.
Speaking to reporters, Ms Mayawati accused the SP government of Uttar Pradesh of a “coverup.” She claimed the family was being pressured to not pursue the case. “They are being pressured to accept the crime so that the culprits could be saved. The state government agreed to recommend a CBI probe only after they came to know I was coming here today.”
The BSP supremo also demanded for imposition of President’s rule in the state. “If the state government is unable to control the situation then in the interest of the people it should relinquish power. Otherwise we again request the Governor to recommend President rule,” she said.
Ms Mayawati said she generally avoids visiting such places but is making an exception in this case to mount pressure for a CBI inquiry.
Soon after Ms Mayawati’s visit, local Samajwadi MP Dharmendra Yadav reached Katra village Sunday to meet the victims’ family, four days after the incident.
The victims’ relatives asked Mr Yadav, “Why are we being asked about our caste by the police. We are citizens of this country. Is that not enough? We do not need your compensation — we want justice.”
Mr Yadav assured them that the guilty police personnel had been terminated and the Chief Minister had already recommended a CBI inquiry on the request of the family. He pledged that the case would be sent to a fast-track court. The family of the two girls had demanded a CBI probe, saying they had no faith in the local police.
Reiterating to Ms Mayawati’s demand for imposition of President’s rule in the state, Mr Yadav said, “I want to tell the Central government and everyone else that all possible action was taken by the state government in the last three days.”
He also rejected allegations that a particular community members had unleashed terror in the village. “I am giving you an assurance that you will not get to hear anything of this sort in the district or the entire UP,” he said.
