New Delhi:
It's been a lengthy battle which has seen her being attacked repeatedly by the Supreme Court, but Mayawati isn't about to give up her plans for her memorials and parks.
She has asked the Supreme Court to change its mind, and let construction continue at these parks in Lucknow, which will have hundreds of statues of Dalit leaders and icons, including herself. In September, the Supreme Court ordered that all work at these memorials must stop, while it looks into how they're being funded. The parks will cost Uttar Pradesh taxpayers more than 2000 crores.
Mayawati was caught violating that order, when media reports, including NDTV, showed that construction continued. A furious Supreme Court warned, "Don't play games with us."
In court, Mayawati's government filed an apology, but within hours of that, an unrepentant Mayawati brought up the issue in a public speech, warning that law and order problems would be created if her Dalit memorials were stopped.
Now, she has changed tracks. In a new appeal, baffling in its logic, she says that because work has been stopped, repairs and maintenance have been affected, and in the long run, these will only add to the overall budget.
Her government also specifies that while it offers an unconditional apology to the court, it did not violate orders in the past. Construction continued, it says, only at parks not included in this case.
The court will consider this appeal on Wednesday.