Dalit Leaders Demand Reinstallation of Ambedkar Statue in Karimnagar
The protesters held a rally from the statue site in Kisan Nagar to Gandhi Chowk and staged a sit-in, blocking traffic.
Karimnagar: Following the removal of a statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, residents of Kisan Nagar and members of Dalit organisations staged a protest and blocked the road at Gandhi Chowk in Karimnagar on Thursday. They alleged that the statue, which had stood for many years, was removed in a dishonourable and conspiratorial manner in the middle of the night.
The protesters held a rally from the statue site in Kisan Nagar to Gandhi Chowk and staged a sit-in, blocking traffic. They raised slogans such as “We want justice” and “Reinstall the Ambedkar Statue.” Police intervened, arrested some of the protesters, and shifted them to the police station.
Dalit leaders, including Kamsala Srinivas, Nakka Pramod, and Goski Shankar, said the statue had been installed in 2016 with permission from the Municipal Corporation, and that they had been regularly celebrating Ambedkar’s birth and death anniversaries there. They accused the authorities and police of acting conspiratorially by removing the statue with a JCB without prior notice.
“It is shameful to dishonour the great man who gave the country a Constitution, while countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are still struggling without a proper one,” they said.
The leaders demanded that ministers from the erstwhile Karimnagar district, Ponnam Prabhakar, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, and Adluri Laxman Kumar, take responsibility and answer to the Dalit community. They warned of massive protests if the statue is not reinstalled.
Former corporators Edla Ashok, Kurra Tirupati, Sampathi Ashok, Kallepalli Naveen, Dharapalli Kranthi, District Ambedkar Youth Association president Kyadasi Prabhakar, state leader Gajja Ananda Rao, and MRPS leaders Dandu Anjaiah, Vara Lakshmi, and Gorre Rajaiah were among those present.
