Jagmohan-Mayawati row heats up

In a dramatic development, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati chose to go public on Monday evening and demanded the resignation of Indian Tourism and Culture Minister Jagmohan Malhotra accusing him of conniving with her political opponents on the issue of controversial Rs 175-crore Taj Heritage corridor construction.

Mayawati, addressing a press conference in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, alleged Jagmohan was "fully aware" of the Taj Heritage corridor but was trying to shift the entire blame on her government by "entering into a conspiracy" with her political rivals.She has also written a letter to Vajpayee pressing for dismissal of Jagmohan. Copies of the letter were released at the news conference. On the other hand, Jagmohan merely said the matter was before the Supreme Court, which has already ordered a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and it was up to the apex court what to do in the light of the investigation.

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The entire controversy relates to the construction on the corridor, which had sought to connect Taj Mahal and the Red Fort in Agra that archaeologists and environmentalists fear would pose a danger to the white marbled monument. Work on the under-construction corridor has since been stopped.

Mayawati has been under attack from her political opponents who charged that she was in the know of the controversial project right from the beginning.

Mayawati said construction of the corridor had begun in December last year and going on and asked what officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), whose office is located barely half a kilometer away, were doing. The ASI comes under the federal ministry of Culture.