Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Thursday asked the Supreme Court not to act upon the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report recommending action against her in an alleged scam involving illegal construction of what is known as the Taj heritage corridor.

In her affidavit filed Thursday, Mayawati said the CVC had recommended action against her and others following orders of the apex court, and she would be seriously prejudiced if the recommendations were acted upon.

The Rs.1.75-billion project envisaged the construction of shopping complexes, entertainment centres, parks and restaurants in close proximity of the Taj Mahal in complete violation of laws.

Following the opinion given by Attorney General Milon K. Banerjee that there was no case against Mayawati, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had dropped all charges against her and informed the court about it.

Not satisfied with the CBI's decision, the apex court asked the CVC to look into the voluminous material and recommend whether action should be taken against her or not.

Last week, the CVC informed the court that there was enough material to proceed against Mayawati in the case.

However, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief contended that the CVC Act would not apply to public servants employed in connection with the affairs of the state. She said she was a former chief minister and did not come within the categories of persons referred to as public servants of the central government.

Mayawati said the jurisdiction of the CVC would be restricted to any employee of the central government or of any corporation established under the Central Act. The activities of the state government or its corporations would not come within the purview of the CVC.

Therefore, she said the CVC had no competence to make any recommendations in regard to investigations of alleged offences against her.

According to Mayawati, the CVC had no power to direct the manner in which the CBI would conclude the proceedings. She therefore sought a direction that the CVC's report should not be acted upon in any manner to her prejudice.