BSP's protest against Ambedkar cartoon not genuine: SP

Amidst the ongoing controversy over a cartoon of BR Ambedkar in school text books, the ruling Samajwadi party today alleged that BSP's protest against the issue was "fake" as it had "minted money" in the names of Dalit icons.

"Their (BSP) protest against the cartoon of BR Ambedkar is fake. The former Mayawati government only defamed such Dalit leaders by minting money using their names," SP spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury told reporters here.

"The BSP government had started schemes in the name of Dalit icons only to earn money from them. Dr Ambedkar is respected by all, but what Mayawati did in her regime was to just install her own statues," he said.

On Friday, Mayawati had declared that she would not allow the Parliament to function if action was not taken against those responsible for the publication of the controversial cartoon in NCERT textbooks.