Mayawati Demands Action On Kanpur Violence "Rising Above Religion"

Kanpur violence: The government has to understand that in absence of law and order, how investment and development are possible in the state, said Mayawati.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the violence and stone-throwing in Kanpur, asking the BJP dispensation to take action against the culprits "by rising above religion, caste and party politics".

Her statement came after violence broke out in Kanpur on Friday, a day when President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a function at the president's ancestral village in Kanpur Dehat.

Bombs were thrown and gunshots fired during the violence as members of a group attempted to shut shops over alleged insulting remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma during a television debate recently, a senior police official said.

In a tweet Saturday, Mayawati said, "Riots and violence that erupted in Kanpur during the visit of the president and the prime minister to Uttar Pradesh is very sad, unfortunate and worrying and also a sign of the failure of the police intelligence.