Mayawati finally relents after Supreme Court rap (To go with ‘Apex court enraged over continued memorial construction’)

LUCKNOW - Rapped by the Supreme Court for violating its explicit order to stop all construction activity at various memorial sites here, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Friday finally bowed down to abide the court directive.

The six-hour deadline the apex court set earlier in the day was eventually adhered to, and various agencies involved in building gigantic memorials devoted to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) icons, ensured that all work was brought to a halt well in advance.

It was another matter that officials continued to claim that construction work had been stopped no sooner than the apex court issued its Sep 8 order.

The memorials in the name of Babasaheb Ambedkar, BSP founder Kanshi Ram and Mayawati herself among others have a total budgetary allocation of Rs.5,200 crore.

By sunset, each of these sites wore a deserted look.

While a number of trucks, earthmovers and other equipment were lying around, all labourers had moved out of the premises of these memorials, being erected in Mayawati’s favourite pink Dholpur stone and expensive granite.

Conspicuous at these monuments were tall statues of the chief minister together with those of her mentor, late Kanshi Ram. Also prominently visible were elephants in stone.

No sooner than the Supreme Court issued a stern warning to the state government around noon, top administrative and police officials were in a tizzy.

Police deployment, made in the wake of media reports about continuation of construction work in violation of the court’s Sep 8 order, was further intensified.

However, unlike the past three days when mediapersons were barred from entering the sites, officials Friday evening happily allowed photographers and scribes to capture the solitude and silence in and around these monuments.