**A senior leader of India’s ruling Congress party has been held for allegedly making provocative speeches against a state chief minister.**Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who heads the party in northern Uttar Pradesh state, was arrested for her comments against chief minister Mayawati.
Supporters of Ms Mayawati’s party have burned down Ms Joshi’s house after the news of her comments spread.
Ms Joshi, who has apologised, is being held in custody for 14 days.
A senior Uttar Pradesh police official, Brij Lal, said that a criminal case had been registered against Ms Joshi for allegedly “casteist” and derogatory remarks made against chief minister Ms Mayawati chief minister - an icon to many Dalits or “untouchables”.
It is against the law to make derogatory comments about lower castes under state laws.
Violence
Ms Joshi is said to have made the comments during a public meeting.
Her comments allegedly included criticisms of Ms Mayawati for handing out financial compensation to victims of rape and murder who are “untouchables” and belong to lower castes.
Some television channels also showed Ms Joshi reportedly saying that such compensation money “should be thrown back on Ms Mayawati’s face”.
As the news of the speech spread, the authorities registered a case against Ms Joshi and police arrested her on her way back to the Indian capital, Delhi.
Furious supporters of Ms Mayawati’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) then marched to Ms Joshi’s house in the state capital, Lucknow, and set it on fire, says the BBC’s Ram Dutt Tripathi in Lucknow.
The incident is likely to escalate into a major political controversy given the rising tensions between the Congress party and the ruling BSP in Uttar Pradesh, our correspondent says.
Relations between the two parties have been tense ever since the Congress made major inroads in this politically crucial state - Uttar Pradesh has 85 MPs in the Indian parliament - during the recent general elections.