New Delhi: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has said she decided to stay single because she wanted to serve the downtrodden sections of society throughout her life.
In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, in response to a petition asking her to pay back public money spent on constructing her statues in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati said she dedicated her whole life for the “upliftment of the downtrodden”, to achieve which she decided to remain unmarried.
On the decision to build statues, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said: “The will of the people was expressed by the state legislature with a proposal to install the statues… at the memorials to show their respect to contemporary woman Dalit leader who has decided to dedicate her life for the cause of underprivileged communities.”
In her affidavit she said she could not have gone against the decision of the state legislators to install her statue near the statues of Kanshi Ram, for whom the nation has raised the demand for a posthumous Bharat Ratna.
The top court was hearing a petition which seeks reimbursement of public money spent on constructing statues at various places in Lucknow and Noida. In an earlier hearing on the matter, the Supreme Court had said that Mayawati should reimburse the public money spent on construction of the statues.
“We are of the tentative view that you should pay the public money from your pocket,” a bench led by the Chief Justice of India had then said.
On March 20, Mayawati announced that she would not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections 2019. “Keeping in mind the current political situation I have decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections,” she had said in an announcement.
