Maya statue issue: UP wants cases transferred to SC

The Supreme Court is due to take up the Uttar Pradesh government's petition seeking transfer of all petitions on the Mayawati's statue construction issue.

The UP government wanted all petitions pending in Allahabad High Court regarding the statues and Ambedkar Park issues be transferred to the apex court.

The Allahabad HC had asked Mayawati to clarify by July 10 whether the court orders were violated in building squares and installing 20 feet statues on national highways and the roads of Lucknow.

The UP Chief Minister is facing the heat for erecting monuments and statues across the state. The Supreme Court had issued a notice to Mayawati on the issue. The apex court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyers, to stop further construction of statues of Mayawati and her party symbol, the elephant.

For weeks now Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has been transforming the look of her state, not with better roads or bridges but with statues and memorials.

The budget of building these statues is a whopping Rs 2,000 crore. Ironically, the money allocated for building new schools this year is only Rs 35 crore.