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| India leader held over comments | India leader held over comments |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A senior leader of India's ruling Congress party has been arrested for allegedly making provocative speeches against a state chief minister. | |
| Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who heads the party in northern Uttar Pradesh state, criticised chief minister Mayawati's policy towards rape victims. | |
| Supporters of Ms Mayawati's party burned down Ms Joshi's house after news of her comments spread. | |
| Ms Joshi, who has apologised, is being held in custody for 14 days. | Ms Joshi, who has apologised, is being held in custody for 14 days. |
| A senior Uttar Pradesh police official, Brij Lal, said that a criminal case had been registered against Ms Joshi for allegedly "casteist" and derogatory remarks made against chief minister Ms Mayawati - an icon to many Dalits or "untouchables". | |
| It is illegal to make derogatory comments about lower castes under state laws. | |
| Violence | Violence |
| Ms Joshi is said to have made the comments during a public meeting. | Ms Joshi is said to have made the comments during a public meeting. |
| Her comments allegedly included criticisms of Ms Mayawati for handing out financial compensation to victims of rape and murder who are "untouchables" and belong to lower castes. | Her comments allegedly included criticisms of Ms Mayawati for handing out financial compensation to victims of rape and murder who are "untouchables" and belong to lower castes. |
| Some television channels also showed Ms Joshi reportedly saying that such compensation money "should be thrown back in Ms Mayawati's face". | |
| As the news of the speech spread, the authorities registered a case against Ms Joshi and police arrested her on her way back to the Indian capital, Delhi. | As the news of the speech spread, the authorities registered a case against Ms Joshi and police arrested her on her way back to the Indian capital, Delhi. |
| Furious supporters of Ms Mayawati's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) then marched to Ms Joshi's house in the state capital, Lucknow, and set it on fire, reports the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi. | |
| Enraged opposition supporters set Ms Joshi's house on fire | Enraged opposition supporters set Ms Joshi's house on fire |
| Congress party leader Digvijay Singh criticised the decision to arrest Ms Joshi. | |
| "This is an example of the rule of the jungle in Uttar Pradesh. Ms Joshi has already apologised for her comments. What she said was not correct, but we need to see in what context she made the remarks," he told reporters. | |
| The incident is likely to escalate into a major political controversy given the rising tensions between the Congress party and the ruling BSP in Uttar Pradesh, our correspondent says. | The incident is likely to escalate into a major political controversy given the rising tensions between the Congress party and the ruling BSP in Uttar Pradesh, our correspondent says. |
| Relations between the two parties have been tense ever since the Congress made major inroads in this politically crucial state - Uttar Pradesh has 85 MPs in the Indian parliament - during recent general elections. |