Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister (CM) Mayawati wants Rs500 crore to realise her dream — a clutch of parks and memorials and statues, including her own, throughout the state.
Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister (CM) Mayawati wants Rs500 crore to realise her dream — a clutch of parks and memorials and statues, including her own, throughout the state. This is in addition to the Rs2,000 crore already provided for the purpose in the 2009-10 state budget.
The opposition reacted strongly when the supplementary demands were presented in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday, with the Samajwadi Party (SP) demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged wastage of government money.
Interestingly, the state proposed only Rs6.5 crore for development of the backward Bundelkhand and Purvanchal (east UP) regions. The supplementary demands for grants totalling Rs7,559.52 crore included Rs556.13 crore for parks, memorials and statues in the name of Dalit reformers, including BR Ambedkar, BSP founder Kanshi Ram and Mayawati herself.
The demands have been presented by three departments: Housing (Rs527.29 crore), culture (26.74 crore) and tourism (2.10 crore). A considerable portion has been requisitioned in the name of beautification and for organising melas and mahotsavs.
SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav said, “All this money is going into the pockets of corrupt officials, BSP leaders and their favoured contractors. This is sheer wastage of public funds. We demand a CBI inquiry.” Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said, “At a time when the state is reeling from drought, farmers are starving and committing suicides, all this government can think of is parks and statues.”
BJP leader Om Prakash Singh said, “The CM seems to have lost her mental balance. She wants crores for building memorials and organising fairs. What are we celebrating? Drought, power cuts, failure of law and order?”
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