Dalits ‘Cleanse’ Ambedkar’s Statue After BJP Leaders Pay Tributes

Members of an SC/ST employees’ union claim they weren’t allowed to garland the statue before BJP leaders.

Right after Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and some BJP leaders paid floral tributes to a statue of BR Ambedkar in Vadodara, members of the Dalit community "cleansed" the statue.

A Dalit leader had claimed that their presence had "polluted" the atmosphere, reported NDTV.

Thakor Solanki, general secretary of the SC/ST Employees Union of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, had claimed that they had gathered at the venue to pay their tributes before the BJP leaders on the occasion of Ambedkar’s 127th birth anniversary.

We told the police that since we had gathered there much before the BJP leaders came, it was our right to pay tributes first. However, police prevented us from garlanding the statue stating that as per the protocol, it was the mayor’s right. This angered our members.

Thakor Solanki, general secretary, SC/ST Employees Union of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

Menaka Gandhi, the women and child development minister, arrived at the statue’s location along with BJP MP Ranjanben Bhatt, city mayor Bharat Dangar, BJP MLA Yogesh Patel and others.

Members of the Dalit community, led by Solanki, started raising slogans against them. An argument broke out between the police and Solanki’s group, but there was no ruckus.

After Gandhi and other leaders garlanded the statue around 9 am and left the venue, members of the Dalit community washed it with milk and water, saying the BJP leaders' presence had "polluted" the atmosphere.