Veteran Congress leader and former MP V Hanumantha Rao today raked up the issue of the installation of a statue of social reformer B R Ambedkar again, and said that he was ready to sacrifice his life to ensure the installation of the same.
Launching a fast unto death at his residence in Amberpet, the leader demanded the Telangana government immediately hand over the statue of Ambedkar, stored currently at the Goshamahal police station, to him.
"I had unveiled a statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar on April 12, 2019, at the Panjagutta Chowrasta. However, the statue was removed from the location the following day. It was taken to the Goshamahal police station by the police. Detaining a statue of the great reformer at a police station is unconstitutional and insulting to the SC, ST, BC and minorities. It is in fact insulting to all Indians. After all, he was the maker of the Indian Constitution and not a terrorist. How then can his statue be removed in this manner? I demand that the TRS government reinstall the bust at Panjagutta immediately. I will remain on a fast till my demand is fulfilled," he fumed.
Rao also lambasted the ruling party, the TRS, for not addressing the issue despite his repeated demands.
Talking about Y S Sharmila's promise to bring back Rajanna Rajyam (the "golden era" of her father former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's rule) in the state, he simply remarked that the time Sharmila spoke of was the rule of the Congress and nothing else.
The tussle over the Ambedkar statue is not an old one. In January last year, Rao had made similar demands. He had alleged that the Telangana government had hurt all people of the backward castes by "desecrating" the statue, and that he would observe a
fast-unto-death and commit suicide if the Ambedkar statue was not restored to its original place before February 5, 2020. Then in December 2020, he had
again demanded that the state government reinstall the statue before Ambedkar's next birth anniversary (April 14, 2021) and threatened to go on a fast unto death if his demand was not fulfilled.