Apparently to outwit her main rival Samajwadi Party which planned to organise a protest, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday night dedicated memorials and parks to commemorate Dalit icons at a hurriedly-organized function in Lucknow, nine days ahead of schedule.
Speaking after dedicating over 15 memorials, including the statues of BSP founder Kanshi Ram along with those of her, Mayawati, who had recently made controversial remarks about Mahatma Gandhi, said 'the total costs incurred in building these monuments is much less than the total value of land at Rajghat', the memorial in Delhi for the Father of The Nation.
Training her guns at those who described the parks, statues and memorials as 'anti-Dalit', Mayawati said: 'In fact, these memorials are symbols of social empowerment and source of inspiration for millions of people across the country and those opposing it are anti-Dalit'.
"Our rival political parties are of the view that the amount spent on these monuments could have been utilised in building schools and hospitals. But my answer to them is that these memorials were built only after the budget for these monuments was approved by Uttar Pradesh assembly," she said.
"The construction of these parks, statues and memorials has given indirect employment to many people," she added.
Mayawati said the installation of monuments erected in honour of men symbolising Dalit empowerment was done without cut in budget of educational, health or employment schemes. "Can any government at the Centre curtail its budget for Defence or External Affairs in order to establish schools or handpumps," she sought to know.
She said if the previous governments at the Centre were really bothered about giving due credit to symbols of social change like B R Ambedkar or Kanshi Ram, then they would have built the memorials in their honour by now.
"In fact, governments at the Centre had adopted a casteist approach and did not give due credit to Dr Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram. Had they given due credit to them, my job would have been easier," Mayawati said.
"If our rival political parties cannot give credit to the efforts of my government, then they should not criticise the steps taken by us," she said.
Mayawati said, "The erection of elephants should not be seen as a symbol of BSP and it should be viewed as a symbol of welcome, which is evident at different places, including Rashtrpati Bhawan, Raj Bhawan and other historical monuments."
