Lucknow, July 24 : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of patronizing and promoting people behind mob lynching in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to communalize politics in the poll-bound states.
In a statement issued here, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that incidences of mob lynching by cow vigilantes had the backing of the BJP, which was trying to communally polarize the states which were headed for assembly polls.
"The BJP is trying to convert democracy into mobocracy so that they can spew venom against the forces opposed to it" she said which terming such incidents "dark blots" on India.
Mayawati also said that the "BJP has always been anti-minority, disrupts communal harmony, destroys social fabric, peace and mutual trust for their own political benefits".
In the 2014 general elections, the BJP garnered some 31 per cent votes and this it cannot claim to be the "choice of the people", she pointed out while adding that the ruling party was by now well aware that its return to power in 2019 was impossible and hence the Narendra Modi government had now turned to being arrogant and reckless.
The Dalit leader also said that mob lynching was a well thought out plan by forces which were being backed by the BJP. She added that in present circumstances she was reminded of the words of her mentor and BSP founder Kanshiram, who often said that the Union government should not be "mazboot" (strong) but "majboor" (weak).
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Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
