Maya slams Sibal for comments on memorials

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has slammed Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal for his remarks on the statues,parks and memorials for Dalit icons being constructed by the BSP government. Sibal,who was in the state capital on Sunday,had said the Chief Minister should decide whether she wanted to spend money on parks and memorials,or on the education of children by implementing the Right to Education Act.

The comments of Kapil Sibal were in bad taste,indecent and uncalled for. His statement betrays the anti-Dalit mindset of the Congress party. It shows that the Congress is not interested in universalisation of education through the RTE,but wants to make political capital out of the legislation for right to education, Mayawati said in a statement on Monday.

The Chief Minister said the Uttar Pradesh government had sought financial assistance from the Centre for the implementation of the RTE Act. It was unfortunate that instead of taking the measures needed for implementation of the Act,the Union HRD Minister had stooped to the level of making indecent comments.

Before making an irresponsible statement on the memorials,Sibal should have thought of the hundreds of memorials to the Nehru-Gandhi family in the country on which hundreds of crore were being spent annually for maintenance. The people of the state are aware of the fact that less then one per cent of the total budget has been spent on the memorials in last three years, Mayawati said.