BSP chief Mayawati's statue politics again surfaced in Lucknow

Lucknow/UNI: Amidst controversy over installation of her statues in Prerna Sthal after a video went viral on Wednesday, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati blamed the media for raling up this issue unnecessarily.

Mayawati in a series of tweets claimed that there was nothing as such of installation of new statues and it was only maintenance of the existing ones .

It was the narrow mindset of some people raising such issues when there is nothing new, she said.

Although the video is yet to be verified, media reports suggested that the idols were being installed at Prerna Sthal located at Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Lucknow. The video shows three statues of Mayawati made of white marble stone being installed at the above said venue.

The marble statues of BSP chief showed her holding a handbag. The base structure for the statue was being prepared here for about a month, but no one noticed it at that time.

To install these idols, a framework has been prepared on four pillars, where black stones have been installed. The structure resembles the one built at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar site in Gomtinagar, where the statues of Mayawati are installed in the cover structure. Due to strong rains in the evening only three statues could be installed.

Amid speculations that the idols are being erected ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls, sources in the BSP on condition of anonymity confirmed that it was just a renovation process and no new idols were being bought. The place where the idols were installed earlier was exposed to sunlight and rain and that was causing damage to the marble statue.

Hence, the statues are being moved from one place to another and will be installed after renovation. No new statue is being built, the leader added to set aside the controversy.

Just before 2012 Assembly elections also, which the BSP lost, questions were raised over Mayawatis statues installed in Lucknow and Noida during the Partys regime in Uttar Pradesh. There were allegations of embezzlement in purchase of statues worth several crores, however, the matter is now in court.