Ambedkar statue 'caged' in Uttar Pradesh

Badaun (Uttar Pradesh) : Statue vandalisation spree in the country has forced Badaun administration to put Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's statue in a cage.

The step has been taken ahead of the Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. Just to ensure more security, the administration has deployed a policeman to guard the caged statue.

Recently, a large number of Ambedkar statues in different parts of the country have been vandalised.

A 'saffron' statue of Ambedkar, unlike usual blue, was installed in Budaun's Dugraiyya village on Monday. The statue was rebuilt after it was vandalised. However, it was repainted with blue colour on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs also on Thursday asked all states to beef up security and check any possible attempt to inciting violence during the Ambedkar Jayanti.

The ministry said that districts magistrates and superintendents of police should ensure peace and check violence in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

This comes after the Uttar Pradesh Home Department on Sunday directed the state police to ensure the security of statues of famous figures.

The recent statue vandalisation spree started after the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in Tripura elections in March.

After the BJP's victory in the Left bastion, a mob with the help of bulldozers uprooted and demolished a five-foot-tall fibre-glass Lenin statue at the College Square in south Tripura's Belonia.

In the recent past, statues of prominent personalities, like social activist E.V. Ramasamy 'Periyar' in Vellore city of Tamil Nadu, and Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee's statue in Kolkata, have been vandalised.