The Congress on Friday questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision of raising a security force to exclusively protect statues and monuments in the State.
A day after the U.P. government tabled the State Special Notified Area Security Force Bill 2010, the Congress said it appeared that Chief Minister Mayawati was trying to raise a private militia on tax payers’ expense.
In a suo motu statement, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari pointed out that these were the very same statues and memorials whose further construction had been stayed by the Supreme Court. Moreover, a contempt application against the U.P. government for violating the Supreme Court’s orders was still under the consideration of the Apex Court, he said.
‘Ironical’
According to the Congress, it was ironical that the State was raising a new force when there was a shortage of constabulary in U.P. This action of the Mayawati government, Mr. Tewari said, was reflective of its priorities when the country was trying to work through a global economic meltdown and the State had suffered one of its severest droughts.
“This from a Chief Minister who came to power as a champion of the downtrodden. Now her action reminds us of the erstwhile feudal raj,” Mr. Tewari said.
