Akhilesh Yadav alleges 151 Ambedkar statues vandalised in Uttar Pradesh
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that 151 Ambedkar statues were vandalised across Uttar Pradesh under BJP rule. He said limited police action reflected disregard for Ambedkar and the Constitution.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that 151 statues of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar were damaged across 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh during the BJP's rule, and said arrests had been made in only 14 cases so far. Speaking at the party office in Lucknow, he said the figures were based on cases documented by his party and government data on police action.
Yadav alleged that the vandalism was deliberate and linked it to the BJP's alleged attempt to change the Constitution. He said, "Statues of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar have been damaged the most. Under the BJP government, over 151 (Ambedkar statues) have been damaged or vandalised in 72 districts."
He added, "This was done deliberately because they (the BJP) wanted to change the Constitution but failed to do so. That is why whenever the BJP and those who share its ideology attack, the first thing they target is a hand-held copy of the Constitution." Yadav also said the Samajwadi Party had compiled the cases on its own. "In all, we have been able to document 151 cases. If we calculate the average, more than 15 statues were damaged annually under this government. There may be undocumented and uncounted cases too," he said.
Citing government figures, Yadav said arrests were made only in 14 cases. In 45 cases, FIRs were registered against unknown persons. In eight cases, named FIRs were lodged. In 84 cases, he said, no action was taken. He alleged that the BJP government neither respected Ambedkar, his statues, nor his people.
Later, the Samajwadi Party posted a district-wise break-up on X, citing media reports. It said Ambedkar statues were attacked in Ballia (9); Azamgarh (6); Mathura, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur (5 each); and Ghazipur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Prayagraj, Lucknow and Varanasi (4 each). The party said two statues were damaged in Gorakhpur, which it placed 21st on the list.
The party also said that in 85 per cent of the cases, no police action was initiated against what it called "feudalistic anarchic elements". It said 46 Ambedkar statues were damaged during the first tenure of the Yogi Adityanath government, while 105 were vandalised during its second term. In its year-wise break-up, the party said four statues were damaged in 2022, 12 in 2023, 13 in 2024, 29 in 2025 and 47 in 2026, as it repeated its charge that police action in such cases had been limited.