Ambedkar statue washed after BJP leaders leave

A statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar was washed and purified on Saturday with milk after Union Minister Maneka Gandhi accompanied by some other BJP leaders left the venue after garlanding the statue of BR Ambedkar at a public function in Vadodra.

Earlier, a section of the gathering raised slogans against the BJP leaders following an altercation between them and the police. But no untoward incident was reported. Soon after Gandhi and BJP leaders left, the gathering ‘cleansed’ the statue with milk and water, saying the BJP leaders' presence had "polluted" the statue.

To commemorate the 127th birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar on Saturday, BJP ministers and MPs fanned out across the country to pay tribute to the architect of the Indian Constitution.

A statue of Ambedkar was vandalised at Greater Noida by unknown miscreants. The statue in Richhpal Garhi village of Bisrakh was found damaged on Friday ahead of the birth anniversary of the Dalit icon. Heavy police force was deployed in view of the tense situation.

In Gujarat, supporters of independent MLA Jignesh Mevani tried to obstruct BJP MPs and members from garlanding BR Ambedkar's statue. Subsequently, police detained five Dalit activists who attempted to prevent BJP MP Kirit Premjibhai Solanki from garlanding the statue.

In Punjab, clashes between Dalit group and right-wing group on Amritsar - Delhi National Highway left two Dalits injured. The injured men reportedly received bullet injuries. One of the injured is said to be critical and has been admitted in a tertiary care hospital in Ludhiana.

Tension started brewing when Dalit activists put up a hoarding at Goal Chowk last evening to ‘name’ it is as Sanvidhaan Chowk on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. However, right-wing Hindu groups including different factions of Shiv Sena objected and converged at the the chowk demanding the removal of the hoarding .

There were also reports of tension from Phagwara town of Punjab's Kapurthala district on Saturday following a late night clash between two groups over the installation of an Ambedkar statue at Balmiki Chowk.

On Twitter, several users remembered the Dalit icon for different reasons in different ways. Here’s a collection: