Congress's 3-day campaign for Ambedkar statue in Gwalior, MP chief shares meal with Dalit family

The Print

24-06-2025

The Congress leaders are scheduled to reach Gwalior the next day and hold a fast demanding installation of the statue.
On Tuesday, the second day of the protest, Patwari along with senior Congress leaders including former MLA Sajjan Singh Verma and former minister P.C.Sharma reached the Buddha Vihar in Bhopal's Panchasheel Nagar and shared a meal with a Dalit family from Buddha Vihar.
Bhopal: The controversy surrounding the installation of the Ambedkar statue in Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken a political turn with Congress state chief Jitu Patwari embarking on a three-day 'Samvidhan Satyagrah'.
The controversy began in February a group of lawyers had approached the Madhya Pradesh Chief Justice for approval to install the statue at the premises of the court. The proposal was met with opposition from another faction of lawyers, who alleged that the decision to install the statue was taken without consulting the larger bar association of the state and that it lacked basic building permission.
In May, arguments broke out with one faction demanding hoisting of the national flag to commemorate Operation Sindoor, while the other seeking the installation of the Ambedkar statue.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Mayawati had written to MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in May, urging him to ensure that there is no hiccup in the plan. Earlier this month, the Bhim Army Bharat Ekta Mission, too, had demanded the statue be installed at its designated spot.
Patwari, meanwhile, referred to Amit Shah's remark in Parliament that had put the Union Home Minister in a tight spot in December.
'On one hand, the Prime Minister does 'Jai-Jai kaar' (hail) of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and then on the other hand, his Home Minister says, 'Ambedkar-Ambedkar-Ambedkar, itna bhagwaan kaa naam lenge toh bhagwaan mil jaate' (Ambedkar-Ambedkar-Ambedkar, if you take God's name so much, you will meet God'). … But Ambedkar is God for us,' the Congress state chief said in his address to party workers.
He then went on to highlight the involvement of BJP workers and leaders at the district- level in atrocities against the Scheduled Castes (SCs). Between 2023 and 2025, Patwari alleged, there was at least 50 cases of murder and rape in which the victime were Dalits.
He sought accountability from Mohan Yadav for the 'failure' of the police to protect the SC communities. 'When there is a crime, instead of protecting the victims, the police and the administration get busy in protecting the perpetrators,' he alleged.
In response, BJP state president V.D.Sharma accused his Congress counterpart of indulging in vote bank politics and using the Scheduled Caste community for the purpose. 'What has the Congress party done for Ambedkar, apart from using his name? It was the BJP who honoured Ambedkar's legacy by honouring him with Bharat Ratna posthumously,' he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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