Dayashankar Singh, Expelled BJP Leader Who Abused Mayawati, Arrested In Bihar

Patna: Dayashankar Singh, expelled by the BJP for his invective against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, has been arrested in Buxar, Bihar.

For over a week, Mr Singh dodged the Uttar Pradesh police which has registered a case against him under a law that punishes caste discrimination.

Photographs earlier this week had placed Mr Singh in Jharkhand, next door to Bihar. He was seen in pictures praying on Saturday last at a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Deogarh. With him were local BJP leaders, who reportedly released the photographs.

Rabri Devi, whose party the RJD is part of the coalition government in Bihar, had commented then that Mr Singh was "roaming around freely" in Jharkhand because the BJP rules the state.

Days after he was promoted to Vice President of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Singh made a misogynistic remark about Ms Mayawati, who hopes to be chief minister for a fifth time when UP votes in assembly elections early next year.

Dayashankar Singh's comment incited outrage and Ms Mayawati warned in a Parliament speech that if he was not punished, Dalits, the caste that she belongs to, would erupt in protests across the country.

Dalits, who form 21 per cent of UP's population, are a crucial determinant of election results.

The BJP acted swiftly to expel Mr Singh from the party, but Ms Mayawati said it was not enough. The case filed by her party against Mr Singh should in fact have been filed by the BJP she said.

In retaliation, leaders from Ms Mayawati's party have brandished posters that use cuss words to describe Mr Singh and have offered a 50-lakh reward for his tongue. Mr Singh's wife has filed a police case against a BSP leader who, she said, made what amounted to a sexual threat against her 12-year-old daughter.