Congress alleges persecution by Mayawati

LUCKNOW: Four days after Chief Minister Mayawati framed charges against a Congress legislator for assaulting a Dalit official, senior Congress leaders on Monday urged Uttar Pradesh Governor T.V. Rajeshwar to stop what they termed as "persecution of Congressmen".

Led by state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari, the delegation Monday afternoon demanded stern action against those responsible for implicating party legislator Pankaj Malik.

Malik was charged under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for assaulting a Dalit official last Wednesday in Muzaffarnagar district from where he is MLA.

"Instead of taking action against the government official for intimidating a people's representative, the state government had booked the legislator, which is against the democratic norms," Joshi told mediapersons.

The delegation has sought protection for the legislator.

Meanwhile, state police have declared Malik an "absconder" and launched a manhunt for him.