Click to play videoNew Delhi: BKU leader Mahendra Singh Tikait has been released on bail. The Bijnaur court has said that his remarks on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati do not violate the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act .
The judge said that there was nothing derogatory or defamatory about the remarks Tikait made against Mayawati. Also, the judge failed to find any public witness in the case.
Tikait has been released with two sureties of Rs 20,000 each.
Skirmishes broke out between supporters of Tikait and police personnel inside the Bijnore court when the BKU leader was being forcibly re-arrested.
The police was trying to push him inside a van when his supporters pushed him back inside the courtroom to prevent his arrest.
His lawyer says that re-arresting the leader is illegal.
Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav has congratulated Tikait for "not bowing to Mayawati's pressure". He said that a grave injustice had been committed as far as Tikait's arrest was concerned.
Meanwhile, Mayawati has trained her guns on the Minister of State for Home, Sri Prakash Jaiswal and has said that as a minister, he should not have supported Tikait.
"It is very sad that the Minister of State for Home Affairs has supported Mahinder Singh Tikait. As a Minister, rather than upholding the law he has gone in support of Tikait. He should resign," she said.
The BKU leader was arrested minutes after he surrendered before authorities in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday morning .
He has been under fire for making casteist remarks against Mayawati, which he later described as a "slip of tongue".
Over 10,000 policemen and paramilitary personnel had earlier surrounded his village and his supporters, around 4,000 of them, laid siege to Sisauli village, from where he was to leave to Muzaffarnagar to surrender.
A panchayat of village leaders, which began early on Wednesday morning to discuss the issue, put forward various demands in return for Tikait's surrender, even as the district administration constantly delayed the arrest throughout Tuesday night.
According to the panchayat's decision, Tikait would surrender in Muzaffarnagar without police employing any use of force.
Tikait Apologises
However, he has showed signs of softening by expressing willingness to withdraw his remarks against the Chief Minister if she wants him to.
“The situation in the village is tense for the past three days. Mayawati is like my daughter and my remarks were not intended to hurt anyone but if they have I'm ready to withdraw them,” Tikait said.
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