New Delhi:
In a setback to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ahead of Assembly elections, the Election Commission has ordered covering her statues and that of elephants in the Noida Park. This is being done as per the election code.
Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi said that except for the Mahatma (Gandhi), photos of all political leaders should be removed. "There must be level playing ground. Partiality will lead to severe consequences," he said.
The Assembly elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh are to begin from February 4 this year.
Mayawati inaugurated the Noida memorial park, whose cost is estimated to be around Rs 685 crore.
The memorial is meant to honour Dalit icons and has over two dozen huge statues of Mayawati, her mentor Kanshi Ram and Dr BR Ambedkar, among others.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Vajpayee's photo on bill boards across the country on the Golden quadrilateral National Highway were covered by cloth.