Mayawati to put up more of her statues

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August 7th, 2008 - 12:35 pm ICT by IANS

Lucknow, Aug 7 (IANS) Undaunted by all the criticism from her
adversaries, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Mayawati is to get three more of her statues installed in the
state capital where two imposing bronze memorials are already in
place. An 18-feet-tall statue is proposed in the neighbourhood of
BSP's Prerna Sthal (inspiration home) where Mayawati had got her first
statue installed inside an imposing stone structure shaped like a
Buddhist stupa.

The space for the statue was created after demolition of BSP's own
office that was built barely four years ago on a 50,000 sq ft plot
just behind the state governor's house.

The statue will adorn what has been christened Bahujan Nayak Park,
being laid in place of the party's state headquarter, that has been
shifted to a brand new building erected over the debris of a
government bungalow.

An identical statue is planned for Kanshi Ram Memorial that was coming
up on a sprawling 32-acre plot of land taken from the Lucknow district
jail. The memorial is slated to cost the state exchequer about Rs.3.5
billion.

The third statue is likely to find place at a prominent spot in
Mayawati's first ever dream project - Ambedkar Park cum Memorial that
was being built on a giant scale at a cost of nearly Rs.5 billion.

Officials dealing with the statue projects were tight-lipped.

However sculptor Ram Sutar, who has been assigned to create the three
statues in bronze, admitted that he was on the job and had been asked
to accomplish the task at speed.

"I have assured the administration I'll complete the statues in record
time", he told IANS.

While none was willing to divulge the cost of these statues
officially, it is said that each will weigh between 20 and 25 tonnes.

Mayawati justified her decision to install her first statue at the
Prerna Sthal, saying: "I always felt that memorials should be built
during the lifetime of icons.

"That is why I got the first statue of my mentor Kanshi Ram installed
in Lucknow during his lifetime. But because he wished that I should
also have my own statue next to his, I decided to put mine too."

The same explanation was repeated when she unveiled her own statue
along with that of her mentor Kanshi Ram last June.

Mayawati's arch adversary Mulayam Singh Yadav had not only condemned
her fad for installing her own statues but also threatened to get
these bulldozed once he came to power.