Mayawati government blames Centre

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has blamed the centre for the situation in Bhatta Parsaul village and justified the arrest of Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi.
State cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar addressed a late-night press conference after Rahul's arrest and blamed the opposition parties for fuelling unrest in Bhatta Parsaul village.
He said the Congress leaders would be taken out of the limits of the state.
Shashank Shekhar said the Congress leaders were arrested after the district administration turned down their request to hold a farmers' rally in the village and re-imposed section 144.
The Cabinet secretary said the Congress leaders were allowed to continue with their protest through the day as there was no prohibitory orders in the village.
However, with the Congress planning to instigate trouble and hold a rally, the prohibitory orders were reimposed and the leaders arrested.
Mayawati govt blamed the Congress for vitiating the atmosphere in the village.
The cabinet secretary said that there was no problem in the village with regards to land acquisition and compensation as all the issues were settled in July 2010.
The Mayawati government alleged that the centre was dragging its feet on bringing a comprehensive law to tackle the problem of land acquisition which was a problem in many states. It announced to stage protest if the bill was not introduced in the next session.
Through her cabinet secretary, Mayawati questioned the motive of Congress in creating tension in the village and sought to know why the party did not take to the streets when the farmers killed employees of state road transport.