Tiruppur mayor cancels order to remove Ambedkar statue from government land

TIRUPPUR: Tiruppur Mayor M Dinesh Kumar on Tuesday cancelled the order issued recently to remove an Ambedkar statue from government land and initiated disciplinary action against assistant commissioner K Vinoth for issuing the order.

According to sources, the National Backward Class Protection Movement had installed a bust of Dr BR Ambedkar in Eswaran Koil Street in 1994. Last Tuesday, Tiruppur City Corporation issued a notice to the organization, stating the site was classified under poramboke category and sought the removal of the statue. Following protests by Dalit outfits, Collector T Christuraj directed corporation officials to halt any action to remove the statue.

Addressing the media, the mayor said, “Recently, corporation officials issued an order to remove encroachments in zone 3. Instead of taking action to remove them, he committed a mistake. We have ordered an inquiry and initiated disciplinary action against the assistant commissioner. We will be installing a bronze statue of BR Ambedkar in the same place. Since Ambedkar is a symbol of secularism and freedom, we believe some vicious people are instigating the removal of the statue. We will stop attempts to disrupt peace and harmony in the city.”

The corporation clarified that it issued a notice, stating the statue was present in a poramboke area, seeking its removal. “But after protests by Dalit outfits, the mayor intervened and later promised to erect a bronze statue,” an official said.