Uttar Pradesh: BR Ambedkar statue vandalised in Azamgarh, police searching for three accused

Uttar Pradesh Police are on the lookout for three men who allegedly vandalised a statue of BR Ambedkar in Azamgarh on Saturday, ANI reported. This is the latest in a series of attacks on statues of political figures across the country.

“They have been identified and will be arrested soon,” ANI quoted Deputy Inspector General Vijay Bhushan as saying.

The act of vandalism follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s condemnation of such incidents. He had asked states to take stern action against those accountable. The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to provide protection to the statues of all leaders in the state. It also directed the administration to ensure that law and order is maintained, not disrupted.

On Wednesday, seven people were arrested in Kolkata for allegedly damaging the bust of Jana Sangh leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Kalighat. On Tuesday, the bust of social reformer EV Ramaswamy – also known as Periyar – was defaced in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore. On Tuesday night, a statue of BR Ambedkar was vandalised in Meerut.

On Monday, the statue of communist icon Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov – better known as Lenin – was knocked down in Tripura’s Belonia town. It was brought down by suspected BJP workers celebrating their party’s victory in the Assembly elections. After this incident, BJP leader H Raja said on Facebook: “Who is Lenin? What is his connection to India? What is the connection of communists to India? Lenin’s statue was destroyed in Tripura. Today Lenin’s statue, tomorrow Tamil Nadu’s EVR Ramaswami’s [Periyar’s] statue.”

After his comments on Periyar drew sharp reactions from leaders across party lines, Raja backtracked and said it was posted on his page without his permission.