Send notice to Mayawati on statues: BJP tells poll panel

October 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Wednesday said it has issued notice to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar for violating the model code of conduct in Maharashtra where assembly elections will be held Oct 13. The poll panel said it had received complaints earlier this week about an agriculture ministry advertisement in a newspaper published in Mumbai Oct 3.

September 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress Friday condemned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's comment that any attempt to demolish Dalit icons' statues will lead to a law and order situation, and said she "mocks the Constitution and challenges the Supreme Court". (The) Congress party would like to condemn the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's statement where she has openly, in a manner, called for civil war, party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.

August 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Wednesday said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is insensitive to the suffering of the people of the state where 58 of 71 districts have been declared drought-hit. "Mayawati government is insensitive to the problems of farmers and common people of the state where people are facing hardships because of drought, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told IANS.

July 1st, 2009 LUCKNOW - Seeking to justify use of state funds in erecting statues of Dalit icons in the state capital, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday said the money earned from visitors to the memorials would be put to good use. "Since the monuments built to commemorate our ideologues would eventually come up as attractive tourist spots and would naturally make a lot of earnings through entry fee, I have decided to use all the gate money towards development of villages named after Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram," Mayawati told reporters here.

July 1st, 2009 LUCKNOW - Seeking to justify use of nearly Rs.3,200 crore (Rs.3.2 billion) of public funds for building grandiose memorials and statues of Dalit icons, including of herself, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday said the money earned from tourists visiting the spots will be used for development. "Since the monuments built to commemorate our ideologues would eventually come up as attractive tourist spots and would naturally make a lot of earnings through entry fee, I have decided to use all the gate money towards development of villages named after Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram," Mayawati told reporters.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Monday suggested Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati spend public money more on people's welfare than for putting up memorials and statues, including of herself. "Mayawati has been lavishly spending public money on building memorials and statues.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party on Monday said the money used for installing statues of Dalit icons by Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister Mayawati could have been used for upliftment of the poor and backwards in the state. Stating that the party was not against installing statues of national heroes, Congress said, but it was against "overdoing" it.

June 25th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Prompted allegedly by a petition in the Supreme Court, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday night surprised many and unveiled as many as 15 projects, including memorials and statues eight days before the schedule. Officials admitted that the unveiling ceremony was to take place July 3 but Mayawati changed the schedule as Delhi-based lawyer Ravi Kant filed a public interest litigation in the apex court seeking to prevent her from inaugurating projects.

May 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Expressing displeasure with two candidates in Himachal Pradesh who violated the poll code, the Election Commission Tuesday asked the authorities to file a case against them. The poll panel said that cases should be filed against Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP) Keshab Chauhan and sitting MP and Congress candidate Chander Kumar - both fighting elections from Kangra constituency - for having more than four people accompany them when they filed their nominations.

April 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Saturday issued notice to senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh for allegedly threatening to 'use' the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. Terming it as violation of the model code of conduct, the panel asked him to reply by 5 p.m.

April 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Sunday issued notice to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram for offering electoral incentives in Rajasthan in violation of the model code.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Thursday issued a notice to Anant Kumar Hegde, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate from Uttar Kannada, for making inflammatory remarks in a poll meeting. The poll panel said it has come to its notice that Hedge conducted a election meeting in Mundgod in his constituency March 21, where he made a statement that 'if Muslims do not stop violence, it will be difficult to celebrate Id-Milad'.

March 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Election Commission Thursday issued a show cause notice to Union Minister of State for Home Shakeel Ahmad for violating the model code of conduct. 'The Election Commission has issued show cause notice to Shakeel Ahmed for violation of model code of conduct,' a statement issued here said.

March 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged the Election Commission to take back the notice served on it to over alleged communal remarks made by its member Varun Gandhi, saying it had distanced itself from the controversial speeches. The BJP, however, told the poll panel late Thursday that in view of Gandhi's assertion that he had not made the offending remarks, the Election Commission 'should endeavour to obtain the original copy of the speech ...

March 11th, 2009 HYDERABAD - Election authorities Wednesday issued notice to Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy for allegedly violating the model code of conduct.