Maya to Yogi: Take care of memorials

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has said chief minister Yogi Adityanath must ensure proper maintenance of Kanshiram memorial located on Lucknow’s Jail Road.

Mayawati also said that she would like the Yogi government to pay attention to other memorials like the Ambedkar memorial built during her party’s rule.

The BSP chief was reacting to the UP CM’s comments on her decision to expel former BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui. Yogi Adityanath had while commenting on Siddiqui’s expulsion said due to the present condition of BSP, the soul of party founder Kanshi Ram would be in great pain. "The Bahujan Samaj movement, which was aimed at uplifting backwards and downtrodden, has now been reduced to a source of earning money,” he had said. To this, Mayawati said, “I would suggest the CM to immediately ensure that the memorials to great leaders were properly maintained. If done, it would be the best way to accord respect to them.”

Since she lost the UP polls in 2012 the memorials she built to Dalit icons in the state capital as well as Gautam Buddha Nagar have not seen the same attention as was the case when she was the CM. Under her leadership the BSP has suffered two successive defeats in UP; first to the SP in 2012 and then to the BJP in 2017 elections. Maya claimed the BJP won by tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs), a charge rubbished by the BJP.