NEW DELHI(PTI);Bahujan Samaj party leader Mayavatis reported derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi the father of the nation touched off a storm of protest in the lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha) on March 15. Janata Dal leader Syed Shahbuddin who raised the matter in the house asked the government to initiate legal action against the BSP leader who reportedly described Gandhi as “a son of devil.”

Parliamentary affairs minister V.C Shukla agreed with Nitish Kumar (JD) that Mayavatis remarks deserved condemnation but these should rather be ignored. Rajnath Sonkar Shastri (Cong-I) Said Mayavatis provocative and reprehensible” utterances had created bitter mess among the weaker sections of the society

Shahbuddin was supported by left members as he condemned the BSP leader’s remarks questioning Mahatma Gandhi’s sincerity 1owards the downtrodden.

The BSP advocating the up liftmen of the weaker section in India had a fairly satisfactory outing in the recent assembly elections to the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh headed by Kansi Ram.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 25, 1994