BSP workers take to the streets demanding arrest of expelled BJP leader

July 21, 2016

Lucknow, Jul 21: Hundreds of BSP workers today staged a demonstration in the busy Hazratganj area here to protest against the derogatory remarks made by Dayashankar Singh against party supremo Mayawati even as police carried out raids to trace the BJP leader.

Raising slogans and burning effigies, the BSP workers converged near the Ambedkar statue in Hazratganj on the call of the party to stage a dharna against Singh, who has since been expelled by the BJP.

Traffic was thrown out of gear in the city as BSP workers, raising slogans and carrying placards, thronged the area. In the dharna, a BSP worker was slightly injured while trying to set an effigy ablaze. The shirt of the injured worker caught fire but he along with others promptly pulled it out and escaped with minor burns.

BSP had asked its workers from different districts to reach the state capital to lodge a strong protest against the remarks made by the BJP leader and in response hundreds of Mayawati loyalists started making it to the state capital since last night.

Singh had sparked an outrage by his derogatory comments against the BSP supremo. He had said that "Mayawati is breaking the dream of Kanshi Ram into pieces. Mayawati is selling tickets like a...

Reacting to the protests, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the issue is over and the BJP has already taken action against him. "This issue is over. We took action against him. Now what else should we do, tell? What he said was completely objectionable. The leader of the House too condemned the statement at the earliest.

He was removed from his post, and later on he was suspended also. Let them protest, they keep on protesting; be it Congress or others. The thing is that BJP is moving ahead, and they can't digest that," he said.

With the Samajwadi Party government making it clear that action will be taken against Singh on the basis of the FIR, police in Lucknow and Ballia raided his premises but Singh was not found.

A police team was sent to Singh's house in Ballia last night but he was not found, Deputy Superintendent of Police K C Tyagi said. Last night, an FIR was lodged against Singh under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after a complaint against him was lodged with Hazratganj police by party national secretary Mevalal Gautam.

Dayashankar Singh had stated last night that he had not said anything directly against the BSP chief. "Whatever I said, I did it respectfully. She is a prominent woman leader and has been Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for four times. I have expressed regret for the statement, but what the BSP supremo said about my mother, sister and daughter in Rajya Sabha...she has insulted the women," he said.

Mayawati had stated that mere expression of regret will not suffice and added, "His (Singh's) remarks apply for his sister and daughter and not for me. The whole country will not forgive BJP... people will come on the streets." Police said security at Singh's residence has been strengthened in the wake of the protest call.

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Average age of school children picking up drugs, smoking habit in 10 Indian cities around 13 years!

News Network

December 13,2025

New Delhi: School-going children are picking up drug and smoking habits and engaging in consumption of alcohol, with the average age of introduction to such harmful substances found to be around 13 years, suggesting a need for earlier interventions as early as primary school, a multi-city survey by AIIMS-Delhi said.

The findings also showed substance use increased in higher grades, with grade XI/XII students two times more likely to report use of substances when compared with grade VIII students. This emphasised the importance of continued prevention and intervention through middle and high school.

The study led by Dr Anju Dhawan of AIIMS's National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, published in the National Medical Journal of India this month, looks at adolescent substance use across diverse regions.

The survey included 5,920 students from classes 8, 9, 11 and 12 in urban government, private and rural schools across 10 cities -- Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jammu, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Ranchi. The data were collected between May 2018 and June 2019.

The average age of initiation for any substance was 12.9 (2.8) years. It was lowest for inhalants (11.3 years) followed by heroin (12.3 years) and opioid pharmaceuticals (without prescription; 12.5 years).

Overall, 15.1 per cent of participants reported lifetime use, 10.3 per cent reported past year use, and 7.2 per cent reported use in the past month of any substance, the study found.

The most common substances used in the past year, after tobacco (4 per cent) and alcohol (3.8 per cent), were opioids (2.8 per cent), followed by cannabis (2 per cent) and inhalants (1.9 per cent). Use of non-prescribed pharmaceutical opioids was most common among opioid users (90.2 per cent).

On being asked, 'Do you think this substance is easily available for a person of your age' separately for each substance category, nearly half the students (46.3 per cent) endorsed that tobacco products and more than one-third of the students (36.5 per cent) agreed that a person of their age can easily procure alcohol products.

Similarly, for Bhang (21.9 per cent), ganja/charas (16.1 per cent), inhalants (15.2 per cent), sedatives (13.7 per cent), opium and heroin (10 per cent each), the students endorsed that these can be easily procured.

About 95 per cent of the children, irrespective of their grade, agreed with the statement that 'drug use is harmful'.

The rates of substance use (any) among boys were significantly higher than those of girls for substance use (ever), use in the past year and use in the past 30 days. Compared to grade VIII students, grade IX students were more likely, and grade XI/XII students were twice as likely to have used any substance (ever).

The likelihood of past-year use of any substance was also higher for grade IX students and for grade XI/XII students as compared to grade VIII students.

About 40 per cent of students mentioned that they had a family member who used tobacco or alcohol each. The use of cannabis (any product) and opioid (any product) by a family member was reported by 8.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent of students, respectively, while the use of other substances, such as inhalants/sedatives by family was 2-3 per cent, the study found.

A relatively smaller percentage of students reported use of tobacco or alcohol among peers as compared to among family members, while a higher percentage reported inhalants, sedatives, cannabis or opioid use among peers.

Children using substances (past year) compared to non-users reported significantly higher any substance use by their family members and peers.

There were 25.7 per cent students who replied 'yes' to the question 'conflicts/fights often occur in your family'. Most students also replied affirmatively to 'family members are aware of how their time is being spent' and 'damily members are aware of with whom they spend their time'.

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