In a major embarrassment to Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Mayawati, a local magazine Ambedkar Today, allegedly supported by the Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP), is in news for publishing an article that abuses Hindu religion, culture and deities.
Mayawati government has ordered an inquiry into the matter. It has also ordered that all copies of the magazine be seized and its registration cancelled. The action came after a Lucknow-based eveninger Pratidin broke the story, and reported that the magazine listed several top ministers in Mayawati's cabinet as its "patrons".
A government spokesman admitted that "obnoxious and objectionable comments were made against a particular religion". According to the spokesman, the editor of the magazine had clarified that the article had come from a contributor and not from the magazine's reporters. The editor, owing to illness, could not go through all the articles, he said, adding, "He has regretted that this article had hurt feelings of the followers of a particular religion."
In his explanation, Ambedkar Today's editor has stated that Pratidin published the ministers' names as patrons of the magazine without their prior permission. He has also said that he suspected that the article could have been published under some conspiracy and demanded an immediate inquiry into the matter.