The damaged statue of Dalit icon and father of the Indian Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar, which was rebuilt with a saffron-colour coat a couple of days ago in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun, was repainted blue on Tuesday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday had installed a statue of Ambedkar to replace the one vandalised in Badaun’s Dugraiyya village on 8 April.
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The statue was rebuilt in the presence of district police officers, but controversy erupted when people noticed that the colour of the statue was saffron. Ambedkar’s statues anywhere in India depict him dressed in a blue-colour coat.
On Tuesday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Himendra Gautam got the statue repainted. According to the reports, the opposition accused the BJP of ‘saffronising’ Ambedkar.
Earlier, the statues of the Dalit icon were found damaged in villages in Ballia and Badaun districts of Uttar Pradesh, triggering protests by members of the Dalit community on Saturday.
According to the police, in Ballia’s Thedwari village under the Nagra police station area, the right hand, leg and head of the statue was found damaged on Saturday morning leading to tension in villages. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Avdhesh Chaudhary rushed to the spot with additional force and somehow pacified the protesters.
A similar incident happened in Badaun where the statue at Ambedkar Park in Dugraiya village was found damaged. A probe was ordered into the incident and cases filed against unidentified persons.
Similar incidents were reported where a statue of Dr Ambedkar was also vandalised by some unidentified people in Firozabad, Etah, Siddhartnagar and Allahabad districts recently.
