Gandhi idol painted saffron in UP village

Lucknow: Tension prevailed in UP’s Shahjahanpur after a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was found painted in saffron. Local Congress workers alleged it to be a handiwork of the BJP and protested against it.

Tension prevailed in Shahjahanpur on Friday after a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, installed on the Gram Sabha land, was found painted in saffron colour.

Local Congress workers gathered at the spot in huge numbers and they blamed the local BJP leaders for the act.

UPCC president Raj Babbar told this correspondent on phone that painting the statue of the Father of the Nation in saffron was nothing short of blasphemy. “Gandhiji always dressed in white and to colour him in a shade that is synonymous with a particular party is nothing short of blasphemy. Gandhi ji had always shunned the politics of hatred and was even killed by those who promote hatred. The act of painting his statue saffron deserves to be condemned and strict action must be taken against those responsible for this,” he said.

According to local police sources, the whitecolored statue of Mahatma Gandhi, installed at the gram sabha land in Dhaka Ghanshyampur in Shahjahanpur, was painted saffron in the night by some unknown miscreants.

Incidentally, this is the second time that the Gandhi statue has been painted saffron. A similar incident had taken place about two years ago and the statue was repainted in white within no time.

On getting the information about the incident, district police officials rushed to the spot.