Baduan, April 10: A statue of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar that was painted saffron in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun has now been repainted blue after a controversy erupted over it. As per details by ANI, the statue has been re-painted blue by BSP Leader Himendra Gautam.  The BSP leader evaded questions when he was asked why the statue was re-painted to blue.

The incident comes two days after the statue of Ambedkar was vandalised in Badaun’s Dugraiyya town. A new statue was quickly brought in and installed by police. The administration arranged for an Ambedkar statue from Agra and installed it on Sunday.  The statue that had Ambedkar wearing a saffron coat, triggered howls of protest from Dalits.

Damaged statue of BR Ambedkar re-painted blue by BSP Leader Himendra Gautam.

The incident comes weeks after the Yogi Adityanath government in the state added 'Ramji' to the name of Dr B R Ambedkar. Soon after protests erupted, Deputy Superintendent of Police Avdhesh Chaudhary rushed to the spot with additional force and pacified the locals. Samajwadi Party MLA and party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said the government was now adding a saffron touch to even Dalit ideologues which was shameful.

Superintendent of Police Kamal Kishore said the police covered the vandalised statue with cloth and started a probe into the incident. According to a report by TOI, Bharat Singh Jatav, Badaun district president, Aarakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, “There is anger among the community members due to the colour of the coat. Saffron is unusual as we have always seen his pictures and statues in dark coloured western outfits, blazer and trousers. It must be repainted.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2018 12:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).