The BSP on Wednesday espied a poll plank in the covering of statues of chief minister Mayawati and the party’s elephant symbol, even as officials failed to comply with the election commission’s 5pm deadline for the draping job.
The BSP targeted both the poll watchdog and opposition parties, with a part of the strategy unfolding in Allahabad high court. The Allahabad bench of the court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the election commission order. The BSP said it had not authorised the petitioner and filing of the PIL was a conspiracy by opposition parties.
The court, however, stated the petitioner could file a fresh petition.
Welcoming the order, BSP general secretary SC Mishra said the election commission order was illegal and unconstitutional, but instead of taking the issue to court, the party would go with it to the people.
Earlier in the day, officials scrambling to cover the statues were defeated by their size at some places and their location at others. At the Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Sthal in Gomti Nagar, officials realised covering a 40-foot statue of Mayawati, standing close to her mentor, Kanshi Ram, would not be possible within deadline.
At the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden, a R685-crore park in Noida, statues of four elephants atop a 125-foot-high pillar remained out of reach.
Arvind Trivedi, general manager of Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd, a state agency which constructed the park, said, “These elephants are small in size, each measuring 1.5 feet, and cannot be seen from roads outside the park. Had we tried to cover them, it would have taken at least 20 days.”
At the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and Green Garden, a R685-crore park in Noida, statues of four elephants atop a 125-foot-high pillar remained out of reach.
Arvind Trivedi, general manager of Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam Ltd, a state agency which constructed the park, said, “These elephants are small in size, each measuring 1.5 feet, and cannot be seen from roads outside the park. Had we tried to cover them, it would have taken at least 20 days.”