Thaindian News

Lucknow, March 10 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday lavished praise on the administration for “thwarting” the Samajwadi Party’s (SP) protests against her government and warned opposition parties against organising similar agitations.

“Let the Samajwadi Party as well as other opposition parties be warned that they would be severely dealt with in case they choose to disrupt law and order in this state,” Mayawati declared at a press conference here.

Terming the SP’s three-day agitation that concluded Wednesday as an attempt to spread “jungle-raj” across the state, the chief minister said: “I am extremely happy with all my officials who were responsible for thwarting the bid of Samajwadi Party goons to disturb the peace and tranquillity in the state.”

“Let it be loud and clear to all that I am the last one to tolerate any nonsense and will never allow anyone to take law into their own hands.”

The three-day SP statewide demonstrations saw numerous clashes. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son and MP Akhilesh Yadav, for instance, was pushed and jostled by uniformed police officials before being arrested from the airport tarmac as soon as he landed here from Delhi on Wednesday.

TV clips also showed Lucknow deputy inspector-general of police D.K. Thakur dragging a slogan-raising youth from among the demonstrators and kicking him with his boot for several minutes before dumping him in a police vehicle.

Akhilesh Yadav, also state president of the party, said: “The chief minister’s assertion reflects her dictatorial approach, but I wish to make it clear to her that her warnings to repeat her oppressive methods will not deter us from raising our voice against her undemocratic and corrupt ways.”