A firebrand Indian politician who champions the poor faced a hail of criticism Tuesday for wearing a garland of banknotes and spending million of dollars on a lavish rally.
Coverage of celebrations organised by Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, dominated Indian newspapers with pictures of her festooned with 1,000-rupee notes on most front pages. Outrage from opposition parties led to the adjournment of the national parliament in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The event — which drew a crowd of 200,000-400,000 — was held in the state capital Lucknow on Monday to mark the 25th anniversary of the foundation of Mayawati’s left-wing Bahujan Samaj Party.
The opposition accused her of spending two billion rupees ($40 million) on the celebrations, which saw Lucknow draped in blue lights. Newspapers speculated the garland could be worth up to a million dollars.

Anti-poverty and health campaigners expressed outrage.
“From my point of view this is a misuse of public money,” J.P. Sharma from the Uttar Pradesh Voluntary Health Association told AFP.

“This money could be used for the health and development of the most vulnerable communities here.”
Mayawati, whose stinging attacks on the ruling Congress party and establishment play well with her large following of poor and low-caste or Dalit Indians, has been criticised before for her spending. (AFP)
The Supreme Court in September forced her to halt the construction of Greek Parthenon-style memorials estimated to be worth 20 billion rupees ($420 million).

In a 2002 report, the World Bank estimated that eight percent of the world’s poor live in northern Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state which borders Nepal.

In a further twist, a swarm of bees approached the stage where Mayawati was speaking — leading to claims that they had been released deliberately to disrupt the 54-year-old leader, known as the Dalit Queen.

“Someone disturbed honey bees at the nearby central school building by lighting a fire below the hive,” a statement from the local government said, promising an inquiry to identify the culprits. (AFP)