"We have not received any letter from Bachchan. When he is not the owner of the land (in Barabanki), how can he donate it," Mayawati remarked at a press conference in New Delhi.
Her response came to a question whether the Bollywood superstar's decision to surrender land to the village body in Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh would settle the controversy in Uttar Pradesh. He had also said that he would surrender his land in Pune district to the original farmers.
Mayawati's remarks came two days after Bachchan's letter to the Pune Divisional Commissioner expressing his desire to donate the agricultural land he has bought in Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh to the Gram Sabha there and the land in Maval taluka (in Pune district) to the original farmers.
Bachchan had purchased the lands claiming to be a farmer but the deals came under legal challenge with the Mayawati government even cancelling the farmland allotment in Barabanki. The Allahabad High Court, however, stayed the cancellation giving the star a breather.