Gorakhpur: Dalits protest against painting Ambedkar memorial in saffron
What's the story
Dalit leaders in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur today took strong objection to the painting of the upper part of an under-construction Ambedkar memorial in saffron. The protesters, however, said that a private jewelry firm had undertaken the painting work as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, adding that "the government had nothing to do with it". Here's more.
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Dalits demand to repaint memorial in white
A local Dalit group's President, Chandrashekhar, said: "They would have painted the entire memorial saffron had we not protested. The jewelry firm agreed to our demand to repaint it in white and used red paint to write 'Ambedkar Chauraha' on it."
Details
Govt has no involvement in painting the memorial in saffron
The memorial is being built at Ambedkar Chauraha, 1 km from the District Magistrate's office, on the lines of Lucknow's famous Parivartan Chowk after demolishing an existing structure. Asked if the government ordered to paint the memorial in saffron, Deputy Municipal Commissioner DK Singh said there was no such instruction. Chandrashekar also claimed, "The government wasn't involved in this."