Mayawati: A case that has dragged
7 Nov 2012 9:16 PM GMT
The involvement of the former UP chief minister Mayawati in the controversial Heritage Taj Corridor (THC) case has been temporarily dismissed. This is a relief to the former CM who has attracted a wave of corruption and illegal practise charges in her various terms as chief minister of UP and is still battling a few. The THC case was one of the high profile cases her name was dragged in and she can now take some relief from the fact that the case has gone in favour of her. In its verdict, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed the petitions that sought to undertake criminal proceedings against her and said in its 69-page order that the charges were ‘devoid of merit’. A bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and Ashwani Kumar Singh read out the verdict. While the final word on the case may still be out since the case is in all likelihood going to go to the Supreme Court, Mayawati can take heart from the fact that the high court in her own state, now governed by her staunch rival the SP, has given her the positive verdict. This case has been dragging for some time now. A special CBI court had freed her from allegations in this particular case way back in 2007, but the case was dragged back to the high court in 2009 with a series of charges against her and it was widely expected that the high court was in the process of implicating her in the case.
Her getting implicated in the case could have seriously impacted her political future in the state and would have given the ruling party the required traction to go after her for more cases from which they could have hoarded more political mileage. In any case, she is now on shifting grounds for the crores she has spent on building parks and statues as homage to her mentor Kashiram, Dalit leader Ambedkar and of course to herself. The spectre of the lifeless statues would continue to haunt her, so the Taj case could not have come at a more convenient time for her.
However, the case is hopefully not shut. Mayawati knows too well that whether she is guilty or innocent in the THC case, it is most likely that her detractors would want the case to go forward to its natural conclusion, given the nature and profile of the case. It is hence most likely that she has to wait for a few more years to get complete relief from the case, in case the apex court holds up the current verdict. It may not. And even if it does, it will be just one of the many cases she is battling. And this could be just the beginning and not the end of her trials.
Her getting implicated in the case could have seriously impacted her political future in the state and would have given the ruling party the required traction to go after her for more cases from which they could have hoarded more political mileage. In any case, she is now on shifting grounds for the crores she has spent on building parks and statues as homage to her mentor Kashiram, Dalit leader Ambedkar and of course to herself. The spectre of the lifeless statues would continue to haunt her, so the Taj case could not have come at a more convenient time for her.
However, the case is hopefully not shut. Mayawati knows too well that whether she is guilty or innocent in the THC case, it is most likely that her detractors would want the case to go forward to its natural conclusion, given the nature and profile of the case. It is hence most likely that she has to wait for a few more years to get complete relief from the case, in case the apex court holds up the current verdict. It may not. And even if it does, it will be just one of the many cases she is battling. And this could be just the beginning and not the end of her trials.
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