Rita Bahuguna Joshi remanded in judicial custody

UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks against chief minister Mayawati, was today remanded to judicial custody triggering a major political controversy with her party accusing the Mayawati government of indulging in personal vendetta.
 
Joshi, who was arrested last night in Ghaziabad district while she was on her way to Delhi, was produced before chief judicial magistrate KK Shrivastava who remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days.

She was taken to the district jail. She has been booked under section 153 A (delivering inflammatory speeches) and section 109 of IPC (using abusive language) besides provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for making remarks allegedly defamatory to Mayawati in connection with her government's compensation to rape victims.
 
Officials said the offences registered against her were non-bailable.
 
Though she has regretted her remarks and apologised to Mayawati if her comments had hurt her, Joshi accused the chief minister and her MLAs of instigating violence at her residence in Lucknow and termed it as a conspiracy against her.
 
In New Delhi, Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the UP government's action was an act of complete desperation and that of personal vendetta against Joshi.

Another Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said Mayawati was resorting to strong arm tactics to cow the Congress into submission.

"With the kind of lawlessness that prevails in UP, you can make out a case for anybody for anything," Tiwari said adding one cannot draw any conclusions from an FIR.

"Ransacking the house of the UPCC chief is going to be the last nail in the coffin of the Mayawati government - you mark my words today," he said.

The UP Congress chief had last night charged Mayawati with setting her house in Lucknow on fire. "There should be an FIR filed against her (Mayawati) and she should be arrested. This jungle law in UP should be brought to an end," she said.
    
Joshi's house on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in a high security zone, a stone's throw from the chief minister's secretariat, was attacked last night allegedly by masked BSP activists.
        
A portion of the house was also set on fire and vehicles burnt.
 
Meanwhile, president of SP in UP Akhilesh Yadav said that there were many examples in the state where the SC/ST Act has been falsely invoked. There has been a complete breakdown of law and order in UP, he said adding police has been acting on the orders of the BSP.