Ambedkar's saffron statue re-painted blue

It must be noted that the usually Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue is in blue.

A day after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh installed a saffron-painted statue of Ambedkar in a village in Badaun after an earlier one had been vandalised, Himendra Gautam, a BSP leader, on Tuesday painted it blue.

Besides Badaun, Ambedkar statues were vandalised in Meerut, Saharanpur, Firozabad, Bulandshahr, Ballia and Allahabad in recent weeks.

The following development comes after the Government had chose to introduce "Ramji" as his middle name in all the official documents.

A similar incident happened in Badaun where the statue at Ambedkar Park in Dugraiya village was found damaged.

Two-time former BSP MLA from Dataganj in Badaun, Sinod Shakya, said, "After painting many buildings saffron across the state, the government now wants to saffronise Ambedkar statues, which is unacceptable".

Officials said the new statue was ordered from Agra and the maker had sent its picture to the district authorities. Bahujan Samaj Party workers repainted the statue on the orders of the party's regional head Hemendra Gautam, who was present at the unveiling of the statue on Monday.

Since the BJP took power in the North Eastern state, there has been a spate of incidents on rise with the saffron elements taking the chance to attack minorities.

Veeru Sonkar, state general secretary of, said, "The saffron statue of the Dalit icon comes soon after the state government emphasised on "Ramji" as his middle name". This has included using saffron paint for the chief minister's office, police stations and even public buses.