UP chief secretary apologises to SC on statue issue

The UP chief secretary has tendered a "sincere and unqualified apology" to the Supreme Court for allegedly going ahead with the construction of the Rs 2,600-crore memorials and statues of Dalit icons including CM Mayawati in Lucknow.

The Uttar Pradesh chief secretary has tendered a "sincere and unqualified apology" to the Supreme Court for allegedly going ahead with the construction of the Rs 2,600-crore memorials and statues of Dalit icons including Chief Minister Mayawati in Lucknow even as he denied non-compliance of its directives on the issue.

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In a 51-page affidavit Chief Secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, while strongly denying any defiance of SC directions, said he has the highest respect for the apex court and was "duty bound to comply" with its orders in "letter and spirit."

On October 6, the apex court had served the Chief Secretary with a contempt notice following complaints that the state government was going ahead with the construction work despite giving two undertakings before it on September 8 and 11 that it would be stopped.

"I humbly and most respectfully submit that I have the highest regard for the orders passed by this Hon'ble Court. I had acted in compliance of the orders passed by this Hon'ble Court. However, I hereby tender my sincere and unqualified apology for any kind of disobedience or deviation, aberration of misconstruction, if any, which might have happened in implementing the orders passed by this Hon'ble Court.

"Any such disobedience of deviation, if any, was inadvertent and I hereby undertake that I shall do everything
in due compliance of the orders of this Hon'ble Court as may be directed by this Hon'ble Court", the affidavit said.