AAP leaders condemn attempt to damage Ambedkar statue in Punjab

Amritsar, Jan 27 (PTI) AAP leaders in Punjab strongly condemned on Monday an alleged attempt to vandalise a BR Ambedkar statue in Amritsar.

The party's state unit chief Aman Arora, accompanied by Cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema, Harbhajan Singh and Kuldeep Dhaliwal, and AAP leader Sunny Ahluwalia, visited the site where the alleged incident occurred.

Arora said the vandalism attempt was an effort to disrupt the state's communal harmony.

"AAP condemns this incident in the strongest terms," he said.

Strict action will be taken in the matter, he said and added that no one would be allowed to disturb communal harmony.

Police on Sunday arrested Akash Singh, a resident of Dharamkot in Punjab's Moga district, for allegedly attempting to damage the Ambedkar statue at the Town Hall on Heritage Street that leads to the Golden Temple.

A clip purporting to show a man attempting to vandalise the statue became widely circulated on social media. The man can be seen climbing atop the statue using a steel ladder and repeatedly hitting it with a hammer.

Finance Minister Cheema said stringent action would be taken against the accused.

"Punjab is the land of gurus and saints, where seeds of hatred cannot grow. Anyone attempting to do so will fail," he said.

He added that the accused had been arrested and the police got him on four-day remand.

Meanwhile, Dalit organisations in Phagwara have called for a strike on Tuesday against the incident.

Dharamveer Bodh, a senior leader of the Ambedkar Sena, said activists of all Dalit organisations would assemble at the local Ambedkar Park in connection with the strike call.

He demanded strict action against the accused. PTI JMS COR CHS CHS SZM SZM