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The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India to examine whether statues of elephant which are being constructed and installed by the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh at the cost of the public exchequer, violate the Model Code of Conduct.
Elephant is the election symbol of the ruling party Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan issued the directions when the petitioner submitted before the court that no political party which is in power can waste huge amounts of public money, which is taxpayers' money, to promote its political interests. The petitioner further submitted that Mayawati's party was liable to be derecognised for brazenly flouting the Model Code of Conduct.
The apex court, which has banned the construction of all memorials and parks in Lucknow and Noida, decided to seek the response of the EC since the issue raised by the petitioner exclusively falls within its domain. The apex court is examining the issue whether court can interfere when huge amounts of public money are being squandered away by the ruling party even if it is with the consent of the state legislature. The apex court has granted three months time to the EC to decide the issue. Mayawati government has earmarked Rs 2,600 crores for construction of memorial parks and statues of Dalit leaders and elephant.
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