The Supreme Court on Friday said prima facie BSP leader Mayawati has to pay back all the public money spent on statues. The Top Court remarks came while hearing a plea seeking direction to restrain her from spending public money on building statues.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi said it would hear the plea on April 2, 2019.
Supreme Court says prima facie BSP leader Mayawati has to pay back all the public money spent on statues while hearing a plea seeking direction to restrain her from spending public money on building statues. CJI Ranjan Gogoi says it would hear the plea on April 2. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/I6vWjTujfR
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 8, 2019
“We are of the tentative view that Mayawati has to deposit the public money spent on her statues and party symbol to the state exchequer,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said. “Pay all the money from your pocket,” the CJI Gogoi said.
The Apex Court, however, it has just made a Tentative view is expressed as it would take time to hear the petition thoroughly.
In the court today, the BSP asked if the case can be heard in May, after the election. “Please don’t compel us to say something which we don’t want,” the Chief Justice said.
The petition was filed in 2009 by two advocates, Ravikant and Sukumar, saying that Mayawati government – which was in power in Uttar Pradesh at the time – spending crores of rupees on statues of the Dalit powerhouse, party founder Kanshi Ram and elephants was irresponsible for a state that had a large number of people living below the poverty line.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s symbol is elephant.
The Election Commission had in 2012 ordered to cover all Mayawati and elephant statues before the assembly elections in the state in order to provide a level playing field for all parties.
The Bahujan Samaj Party had told the Supreme Court in 2014 that the full expenditure on the statues was based on the budget passed by the Uttar Pradesh assembly.
Earlier on January 31, Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at several locations in Uttar Pradesh in connection with 1,400 crores memorial scam during BSP‘s Supreme Mayawati Tenure in the state. The state government headed by the then Chief Minister Mayawati had built the memorials, statues and parks at a cost over 2600 crore in Lucknow, Noida, and many other places in the state.
Central probing agency has filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate after taking cognizance of the complaint by state vigilance Department in 2014. The State Vigilance Department in its complaint has accused financial irregularities in the Construction of the memorial including statues of BSP Founder Kanshiram and BSP symbol ‘elephant’.