Not against Shivaji statue but BJP adopts double standards: BSP

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Sunday alleged the Narendra Modi government of double standards, saying that at one end Shivaji staue is getting worth Rs. 3,600 whereas statues of schedule caste and OBC are being criticised for being waste of expenditure.

BSP supremo Mayawati in a statement said the double standards of the saffron party exposes the caste discriminatory attitude

"Not against Shivaji Memorial worth Rs. 3,600 crore, but why are memorials of great OBC and Dalit leaders constructed by us being criticised?" it added.

According to the statement, the work done by the BSP government for great poets and writers have always been criticised by the past governments including Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party.

"These tactics used by BJP and Samajwadi Party will not be able to woo the people of Uttar Pradesh as they have exposed themselves," the statement added.

This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday laid the foundation stone for the grand memorial of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on board a hovercraft in the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast.

The main feature of the Shivaji memorial is that it costs Rs. 3,600 crore.

The Maharashtra Government will fund the entire project and has already set aside Rs. 2,300 crore for the first phase of construction.