New Delhi: Rashtriya Lokmanch president Amar Singh on Tuesday demanded a white paper from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on the money spent in constructing Ambedkar parks in Noida and Lucknow and that spent on welfare of the people.
Reacting to a decision of the Mayawati cabinet favouring four-way division of the state, Singh -- a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh -- said the chief minister should tell how much her government had spent on welfare of the people living in the proposed states of Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Awadh Pradesh - compared to the money spent on statues built in the two parks.
Singh, whose party favours creation of a separate Purvanchal state from Uttar Pradesh, said he had been holding marches and rallies on the issue for the past several months.
"I am humbly requesting Mayawati-ji... issue a white paper on how much has been spent in Ambedkar parks in Noida and Lucknow and how much you have spent in your entire tenure in the proposed states of Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Awadh Pradesh... How much money has been spent on people who are alive," Singh said.
He said people from Uttar Pradesh had been toiling hard in states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Assam bearing hardships to save some money for their families back home but statues on which money had been spent by Mayawati were lifeless and do not undergo suffering.
Singh said he had been going on "Purvanchal swabhiman yatras (Purvanchal self-respect marches)" and holding demonstrations to push for carving out a new state.
The Mayawati cabinet Tuesday decided to divide the state into four: Purvanchal, Pashchim Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Awadh Pradesh. The chief minister said her government will get a resolution passed in the assembly on the issue.
