Mayawati welcomes scrapping of Shivalaya Park proposal in UP's Kanpur

Lucknow, Sep 3 (PTI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Wednesday welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government's reported decision to scrap the controversial proposal to build a Shivalaya Park within Kanpur's Gautam Buddha Park, and thanked the state administration for the move.

Taking to X, Mayawati said, "Media reports today say the highly controversial proposal to build a Shivalaya Park at Kanpur's famous Buddha Park has been cancelled. This is welcome, and I thank the UP government for it. I hope the government will also take such conspiracies seriously elsewhere and act firmly against them so that peace, harmony and brotherhood in society are not disturbed." The BSP supremo had earlier objected to the project in a post on August 31, calling it "totally inappropriate" and warning that it could "spread unrest and hatred" if not stopped.

The controversy erupted after the Kanpur Municipal Corporation floated a Rs 15-crore plan to construct the park with replicas of the 12 Jyotirlingas within Gautam Buddha Park, which is considered a symbol of faith for Buddhists and Ambedkarite followers.

The move was strongly opposed by Dalit leaders, including Azad Samaj Party chief and MP Chandra Shekhar Azad, who said it undermined the secular values represented by Lord Buddha and Dr B R Ambedkar. PTI KIS HIG HIG