New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS): Congress leaders, led by party's senior leader Udit Raj, staged a protest outside the residence of AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding an apology over the recent vandalism of Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s statue in AAP-governed Punjab.
The protesters gathered to voice their concerns about the incident, urging the AAP to take responsibility and issue a formal apology for the "disrespect" shown to B. R. Ambedkar.
Around 50 'Ambedkarites' from Delhi joined Udit Raj to present a statue of Dr. Ambedkar to Kejriwal at his residence.
During this, Raj expressed his strong discontent with the handling of the situation, saying, “We demand that the insult to Dr Ambedkar, which occurred in Amritsar under the AAP government, be acknowledged. They must apologise for the vandalism of the statue. If they truly respect Dr Ambedkar, they should stop exploiting his image for political gain, as they have done in the past.”
Raj further emphasised the hypocrisy of political leaders who use Dr Ambedkar's image for votes but fail to truly honour his ideals.
"They only ask for votes in the name of Baba Saheb," he said, demanding that Kejriwal "should learn how to respect Baba Saheb."
“The act of merely displaying his picture is no longer enough, this is a betrayal of his legacy,” he told IANS.
“The purpose was to pay tribute to Dr Ambedkar and present a statue in his honour, following the insult of his statue in Amritsar. We also demand that Kejriwal stop using Dr Ambedkar’s image as a political tool. It is well known that Kejriwal does not value Ambedkar's ideas,” said Udit Raj.
The vandalism of Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue situated outside Town Hall on Heritage Street in Amritsar took place on January 26.
The accused climbed atop the statue using a ladder put in place for political leaders to pay floral tributes on Republic Day. As per the purported video clip, the accused allegedly attempted to damage the Ambedkar statue at the Town Hall on Heritage Street. In the clip, the accused is seen hitting the statue multiple times with the hammer.