By IANS,
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav Tuesday took the Mayawati administration by surprise by forcibly unveiling a statue of Ram Manohar Lohia at a hospital here on his birth centenary.
Before Mulayam’s arrival at Lohia Hospital, some of his partymen had discreetly removed a cloth covering the 16-foot-tall statue. Thereafter, Mulayam drove in and hastily climbed up a ladder to garland it and offer flowers.
The local administration officials who rushed to the spot with police tried to prevent Mulayam Singh from proceeding towards the statue, but hundreds of his supporters made it impossible for police to stop him.
Accusing police of attempting to disrupt the unveiling, Mulayam alleged, “Some cops tried to pull the ladder while I was climbing up. My partymen saved me and prevented injuries to others by holding on to it.”
He termed the officials’ act as a reflection of “Mayawati’s autocratic approach”.
Slogans of “Mulayam Singh Yadav zindabad” and “Ram Manohar Lohia Amar Rahen” rent the air while the tug of war between police and SP activists was on.
The hospital was named after Lohia and inaugurated by Mulayam when he was the chief minister in 2003. Lohia’s statue was installed on the hospital ground in 2007, shortly before declaration of state assembly elections. The election code of conduct prevented Mulayam from formally unveiling the statue.
The statue remained wrapped in a cloth cover since Mayawati came to power in May 2007.
Talking to reporters after unveiling the statue, Mulayam said, “I wanted to unveil the statue earlier but could not do so because of the election code of conduct.”
“I was hoping Chief Minister Mayawati would unveil it, but she refused to have anything to do with it,” he noted.
“Therefore, I made up my mind to do it myself. I would have been happier if Mayawati’s official machinery had not tried to create hurdles in the unveiling ceremony,” Mulayam said.