Uttar Pradesh installs saffron statue of Ambedkar in Budaun village

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday installed a statue of BR Ambedkar in a Budaun village painted saffron, unlike the usual blue.

The statue of the architect of the Indian Constitution in Dugraiyya village, which was vandalised some time back, was replaced with this new one. The new statue from Agra was unveiled in the presence of district police officers.

In the past, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan, which houses the office of the chief minister, was painted saffron and later, even the Haj Committee office. Saffron is the colour representing the BJP.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who himself wears saffron robes, defends the colour fetish and finds nothing wrong with it. “Saffron colour represents purity... can someone deny the existence of the sun which is also saffron... people questioning all these are narrow-minded,” he has said many times in the past.