By Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi, IANS
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has decided to buy a brand new aircraft for her personal travel and sent off senior officials in her government to the United States to negotiate the deal.
Senior officials, including Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Shailesh Krishna, have flown to the US Friday to shop for the latest aircraft to add to the fleet.
Official sources told IANS that the plane was being bought for the state government, but the aircraft will be for her personal use. Mayawati already has two planes of the state government at her disposal.
The high-flying Mayawati’s fondness for planes is well known. Just recently the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief flew in a chopper from her official residence in Lucknow to the Ramabai Rally Sthal, just a few kilometers away, to address a mammoth rally on the occasion of BSP leader Kanshi Ram’s death anniversary, much to the delight of her supporters.
“Her travel by air even for short distances makes her Dalit supporters feel proud of her as they see it as another milestone in their social advancement,” said a party leader not wanting to be named.
Plans to purchase an exclusive aircraft for her travel have been in the pipeline for almost a month.
“A Dalit ki beti (daughter of a Schedule Caste) using a chopper, becoming chief minister of the India’s largest state and wearing expensive jewellery gives the Schedule Castes a sense of achievement,” said another party leader.