Click to play videoNew Delhi: After the Centre demanded an enquiry into the construction of her massive statues, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is courting fresh trouble from the Environment Ministry.
Sprawling statues, majestic replicas of elephants adorning Dalit memorials across Uttar Pradesh have raised eyebrows for a long time but Mayawati now finds herself in a tight spot with the Union Minister for Forest and Environment, Jairam Ramesh alleging that the mandatory environment clearance for the concrete structures had not been taken.
"This has become a habit of ministers, they go ahead without environmental clearance and forestry clearance will not go on for long. We will do something about it (Speaking in Hindi)," said Ramesh.
This move from the Centre comes even as the Supreme Court sent Mayawati a notice on the new statues - which have been constructed all over Lucknow as well as close to the national Capital, in Gautam Budh Nagar.
The Supreme Court sent a the Uttar Pradesh government a notice in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
However, Mayawati with an eye on her Dalit agenda, and even realising the threat from across the parties, is using government machinery to protect her statues. She has put 400 constables on a 12-hour shift across the state on 'statue protection duty'.
"All the circle officers and beat constables should maintain records of the statues (Speaking in Hindi)," said Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Neera Rawat.
Outside observers say that the paranoia perhaps is quite natural for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo who, after the recent drubbing at the elections, is quite upset with the Congress' objective of eating into the Dalit vote bank.
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