UP Congress slams Mayawati over Education Act row

Moradabad (UP), Apr 5 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi has slammed Chief Minister Mayawati for seeking funds from the Central Government to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act in the state.

Joshi charged Mayawati with emptying the state coffers for erecting statutes and building tourist parks, but when it came to the education of children, she had said that she had no funds.

"This state government is a government full of scams and scandals. She (Mayawati) is claiming that they do not have enough funds to implement the Act. But one needs to ask her from where she got rupees 55 billion for erecting various statues in the state. From where did she get the money for the park? Who has funded the rupees 530 million for the special police force to guard Dalit monuments in the state?" asked Joshi.

Joshi further said that if the Mayawati government could not function with current funds, then she should step down.

"This government is visionless and I feel that she claims to have no money just to extract more funds from the Central Government, so that she can do more scams and scandals. There is no dearth of money with the state government. I can challenge, if Mayawati feels that they (the state government) cannot implement the Act, then the state chief can resign from her post and we will run the state," Joshi added.

Mayawati wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday asking for funds to implement the Right to Education Act in the state.

The RTE Act, which provides compulsory elementary education to all children, is funded by the Central Government upto 65 percent and the remaining 35 percent has to be met by the states. (ANI)