LUCKNOW, July 30: Opposition members in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly today demanded resignation of Chief Minister Mayawati over an alleged caste clash in Barabanki yesterday, in which seven persons, including six of a family, were burnt to death.The Opposition members raised the issue in the House, charging that caste feuds were being deliberately fuelled in the State for votes and that the Chief Minister had no moral right to continue on her post any more.Ashok Bajpai of the party claimed that it was the non-action by the police that had led to the killings in Barabanki, around 20 km from Lucknow.``Seven deaths would not have occurred had the police sprung to action after the first person was hacked to death,'' he said.Congress members joined the SP in the attack on the Government, calling for a high-level and time-bound probe into the incident. CLP leader Pramod Tiwari said the clash was a grim reminder of the deteriorating law and order situation in the State and that the Mayawati Government had done precious little to check the trend.Opposition leaders also demanded that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh be paid to the kin of each of those killed and the ``guilty'' police officials be punished.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barkhu Ram Varma led the Government defence. He claimed that the incident was not a caste clash but the fallout of a protracted dispute on a piece of land. He also asserted that ``the Government had taken immediate action to quell the trouble. Senior police officials from Lucknow rushed to the spot and adequate police force has been deployed to ensure peace.''In response to the Opposition's allegations, Varma counter-charged that a conspiracy was being hatched to defame the Mayawati ministry and to invoke Article 356 of the Constitution to dismiss her Government. Earlier, the Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on the alleged diversion of funds by the Government from the Poorvanchal Vikas Nidhi, a corpus fund reserved for legislators of eastern UP.
