HYDERABAD: A delegation of leaders led by former MP and AICC secretary
V Hanumantha Rao on Monday submitted a letter to chief secretary Somesh Kumar, urging him to see that
Ambedkar statue is reinstalled at Panjagutta crossroads.
In the letter, Rao said members of political parties, Ambedkar welfare associations and civil society groups would resort to dharnas and protests from March 2 if the government fails to reinstall the statue by February 29. Hanumantha Rao later told reporters that police, GHMC officials and the TRS government had insulted Ambedkar and crores of his followers by removing his statue and dumping it in a garbage yard.
He said local youth from Jai Bheem group of Panjagutta had installed the statue at Panjagutta crossroads on the night of April 12, 2019. “The statue was later removed, broken and thrown in the garbage yard at Jawahar Nagar,” he said.
The incident caused anguished followers of Ambedkar and even members of political parties held protests. The police detained protesters. “Even I was taken into police custody for staging a dharna demanding reinstallation of Ambedkar statue at the same spot,” he said.
However, officials said there was no permission to install the statue. Hence, it was removed.
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