In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2009 that challenged the expenditure of over Rs 2,000 crore on statues and memorials during Mayawati’s tenure as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The bench, led by Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, declared that most of the prayers in the petition had become infructuous, noting that the statues in question were already installed and that the Election Commission has since issued relevant guidelines.
The PIL, initiated by lawyers Ravi Kant and Sukumar, alleged misuse of public funds for the installation of numerous statues, including those of Mayawati herself and the elephant, the symbol of her party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The petitioners contended that such expenditures during the fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 were not only a wasteful diversion of public money but also violated directives from the Election Commission.
In her defense, Mayawati had argued that the installations were an expression of the people’s will, reflecting the respect and recognition of her contributions as a leader of the Dalit community. She equated her actions with those of other political parties which have historically erected statues of their leaders, citing examples like the Congress party’s statues of its past leaders and the BJP-led government’s recent projects like the Statue of Unity in Gujarat and a giant statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Mayawati also defended the legality of the appropriations for the statues, stating that the funds were duly approved by the state legislature and that the installations were completed in full compliance with the Constitution and legislative rules.
In 2019, the apex court had suggested that Mayawati should reimburse the state treasury for the funds spent on the statues. However, she responded robustly, asserting that the plea against her was politically motivated and that similar initiatives by other parties had not been similarly scrutinized.
