Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday appears to have defied the Supreme Court’s order that asked former state chief ministers to vacate government bungalows, PTI reported.
A nameplate seen outside the government residence she was staying at declares the building to be a memorial for her party’s idealogue, Kanshi Ram. The sign says the building was now the Sri Kanshiram ji Yadgar Vishram Sthal (Sri Kanshi Ramji Memorial Rest House).
Special Secretary and Uttar Pradesh Estate Officer Yogesh Kumar Shukla said that this new nameplate may not change anything, The Indian Express reported. “They cannot convert that bungalow into a guest house or museum,” Shukla said. “I will check again if there is any mention of a guest house or anything like that in the old files.”
Mayawati is scheduled to move to a bungalow in the neighbourhood, the daily quoted an unidentified party worker as saying.
On May 7, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4(3) of the UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2016, that allowed former chief ministers to stay in government bungalows. The top court had said that such a legislation was “arbitrary, discriminatory and unsupported by the Indian Constitution”.
“Such laws create a separate class. Once public servants demit office there should be nothing to distinguish them from a common man,” it had added.
On May 17, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Adityanath government had issued notices to at least six former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers, including those from the BJP, to vacate their official bungalows in Lucknow within 15 days. The ministers included Narayan Dutt Tiwari, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Rajnath Singh.
Meanwhile, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has asked the court for a two-year grace period to vacate the government residence allotted to him, PTI reported. Yadav said he needed time to find suitable residence to accommodate the security personnel allotted to him as a former chief minister.
The Samajwadi Party President wrote to the state’s estate officer. “The administration has also provided me Z-plus security cover (including National Security Guard commandoes) for which I need adequate space.”
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