Dayashankar Singh, Untraced By Cops, Photographed At Temple

Lucknow: For nearly a week, the Uttar Pradesh police force - one of the largest in the country - has been trying to locate Dayashankar Singh, whose invective against Mayawati has been followed by an arrest warrant and his expulsion for six years from the BJP.

Photographs that appeared yesterday show Mr Singh, praying on Saturday at a famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Deogarh in Jharkhand. He is seen in the pictures with local BJP leaders, who reportedly released the photographs.

"The BJP rules Jharkhand and Dayashankar Singh's roaming around freely proves nobody is serious about arresting him, " said Rabri Devi, whose party, the RJD, is part of the coalition government in next-door Bihar.

Days after he had been promoted to Vice President of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which will vote soon for its next government, Mr Singh made a misogynistic remark about Mayawati, who has served four times as the Chief Minister of the state.
 The comment incited revulsion and condemnation during a lengthy debate in parliament. Mayawati delivered a forthright speech in which she warned that if Mr Singh were not severely dealt with, Dalits, the caste that she belongs to, would erupt in protests across the country. Dalits, who form 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's population, are a crucial determinant of election results.

She was good to her word. The next morning, a huge gathering of workers from her party, the Bahujan Samaj party or BSP, was persuaded to dissemble only at her urging. But Mayawati, 60, says that she was betrayed by the Uttar Pradesh government which had assured her that Mr Singh would be arrested within 36 hours according to a law that punishes caste discrimination.

His appearance at the Jharkhand temple was cited by her today as evidence of the government's disinterest in punishing Mr Singh.

Through the controversy, Mayawati's own party has also freewheeled in abuse, with leaders brandishing posters that use cuss words to describe Mr Singh and offering a 50-lakh reward for his tongue. Mr Singh's wife has filed a police case against a BSP leader who made what amounted to a sexual threat against her 12-year-old daughter.