The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday suspended Dayashankar Singh from the party for six years for making slanderous remarks against Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, ANI reported. BJP had first sacked him as the vice president of its Uttar Pradesh unit for saying Mayawati was "worse than a prostitute" when it came to selling party tickets. He had been forced to apologise after facing severe criticism from several senior leaders, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Singh had accused Mayawati of giving away tickets for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election to anyone who paid her more money. "Even a prostitute fulfils her commitment after she is paid. But Mayawati sells party tickets to anyone who paid her the highest amount. She has become worse than a prostitute and abandons the ideals of Kanshi Ram," he had said.

A FIR has been lodged against Singh under relevant sections of the the Scheduled Cast and Scheduled Tribe Act and the Indian Penal Code. "We will check the CD we have received and will maintain things for smooth functioning," Uttar Pradesh police said.

In response, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said the BJP was frustrated with her party's rising strength in the state. Singh's comments forces repeated adjournments in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. BJP's state unit chief Keshav Maurya had apologised for the Singh's remark, and Jaitley had said the party "stands with" Mayawati on the matter.