A complaint has been filed in Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court by All India Raiger Mahasabha against BSP supremo, Mayawati, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by saying “if ruling Uttar Pradesh government can make a tall idol of Lord Rama with government funds, then why can’t she make her own idol”.
A complaint has been filed in Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court by All India Raiger Mahasabha against BSP chief Mayawati for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by saying “if ruling Uttar Pradesh govt can make tall idol of Lord Rama with govt fund, then why can’t she make her own idol”
— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2019
BSP supremo Mayawati on April 2 defended her life-size statues in Uttar Pradesh which were built from crores of rupees in public money when she was UP Chief Minister. Justifying the need, Mayawati told the Supreme Court that her statues represent the “will of the people”.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, in an affidavit filed in the apex court, said the memorials and statues of herself and other leaders are “intended to promote values and ideals of various sants, gurus, social reformers and leaders among the public and not intended to promote the symbol of BSP or to glorify” her.
Mayawati, defending the use of public money for the construction of her statues audaciously compared it to the construction of the UP government’ proposed Lord Ram’s statue, asking the court as to why no objections were raised when state government proposed a 221-meter tall statue of Lord Rama in Ayodhya.
Mayawati filed an affidavit in the top court after her statues invited a plea. Advocate Ravi Kant alleged Mayawati spent public money on these structures.
In the plea filed in 2009, Kant claimed the former Chief Minister of UP spent money on acts of “self-aggrandizement”. He asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and also a directive to remove the statues.
Notably, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had on February 8 hinted Mayawati might have to cough money from her own funds, which she spent on erecting statues of herself and the party symbol, the elephant, in public places, and return it to the public exchequer.
Defending the budget of the statues, Mayawati said funds for the construction of the memorial and installation of statues were sanctioned through budgetary allocations after approval of the budget by the state legislature.
Mayawati also sought the dismissal of a plea, which alleged that public funds were misused in the construction of memorials and statues, saying it is a politically motivated and gross abuse of process of a court of law. “Issue of the utilization of funds for a particular purpose is more a debatable question for political and moral purposes rather than a legal issue,” the affidavit read.
