On 26th January, as the nation celebrated its 76th Republic Day, a man wearing a shirt and track pants vandalised the life-size statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in Punjab’s Amritsar by climbing atop and then hitting it with a hammer. The accused, identified as Akashdeep Singh, who is a Scheduled Caste (SC) from Moga district used an extension ladder to execute his plan. He even lit flammable stuff on the stone-carved Constitution book in front of the statue and burned it.
The incident transpired at the Town Hall on Heritage Street which leads to the world-renowned Golden Temple. According to the authorities, the cause of the occurrence has not yet been determined. Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar stated that the culprit was taken into custody and a first information report (FIR) was filed. However, the probe is still in progress. The video of the instance soon went viral on social media leading to a political row, especially between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Man uses hammer to deface Baba Saheb Ambedkar ji's statue in Amritsar, Punjab!
— Pradeep Bhandari(प्रदीप भंडारी)🇮🇳 (@pradip103) January 27, 2025
Law & order has totally collapsed under "AAP Da"!
This is an insult of "Dalit" brothers and sisters!
Mr Arvind Kejriwal has exploited Dalit brothers and sisters from Punjab to Delhi! pic.twitter.com/ELXY5lLvWB
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned the incident on 27th January and assured strict action while cabinet minister Harbhajan Singh said that the perpetrator had been apprehended and that “an investigation is underway to reach the real conspirator.”
However, the Dalit organizations started a protest on the site and called for a strike on 27th January. Amritsar South MLA Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Punjab cabinet member Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also arrived on the scene to assess the situation and pacify the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, the BJP launched an attack on AAP over the development. “The tallest statue of BR Ambedkar in Amritsar was desecrated by a person with a hammer under the nose of AAP’s Punjab government. The statue is in front of a police station. The statue was tall, so how did the accused get the ladder? This happened in Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP Punjab and the whole team is silent,” BJP MP Sambit Patra charged.
BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh expressed, “This incident is condemnable. Punjab AAP’s Bhagwant Mann government is in deep sleep. Punjab’s law and order has deteriorated. The Chief Minister is busy with tourism while BR Ambedkar’s statue is tampered with and the constitution is insulted. That too outside the Police Station at the main crossroads of Amritsar.”
He further demanded, “What happened in Amritsar could not have taken place without Arvind Kejriwal’s permission. Kejriwal should go to Amritsar, apologise in front of the Ambedkar statue, and resign from his position.” Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal also took to X to protest against the incident. “This heinous act has hurt the sentiments of millions. I demand stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to unravel the conspiracy behind this shameful incident. Let’s stand united against such vile attempts to create divisions in our society,” he remarked.
Strongly condemn the attempt to desecrate the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar ji’s statue at the Heritage Street in Sri Amritsar Sahib on Republic Day. This heinous act has hurt the sentiments of millions. I demand stern action against the culprit and a thorough inquiry to unravel… pic.twitter.com/uBrj7LKN6g
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) January 26, 2025
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Shiromani Akal Dal MP, called the attempt to damage Ambedkar’s statue a disgraceful plot to split “our society and cause disturbance in Punjab. Such acts should be dealt with sternly. I appeal to Punjabis to maintain calm.” Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati also voiced, “The attempt to desecrate the statue of Baba Saheb Dr B.R. Ambedkar near the Golden Temple on Heritage Street in Amritsar and to set fire near a copy of the Constitution is shameful. Such incidents, caused by government negligence, must be strongly condemned.”
“Since this incident took place in the galliara of Sri Harmandar Sahib, the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) and Akal Takht jathedar should also issue a clarification,” former Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla conveyed on social media. Partap Singh, the secretary of the body, however, claimed, “The statue is not situated in the galliara of Sri Harmandar Sahib. It is near the Partition Museum and Kotwali police station, where the responsibility to protect it lies with the government and administration. Though the galliara also comes under the jurisdiction and control of the government, the statue is nearly 1km from the shrine. So, it is unfair for Sampla to link this incident to the Harmandar Sahib galliara.”
“The Sikh institution gives due respect to Dr Ambedkar and strongly condemns the vandalism, but creating confusion in the sangat (community) by linking this incident to Harmandar Sahib is condemnable. Such baseless statements are unfair. Sampla should withdraw his statement so that the confusion ends. Demanding a clarification from the SGPC and Akal Takht jathedar is wrong.” he added.
Earlier, Punjab police reported that they had detained a “few miscreants” for allegedly trying to damage the statue of BR Ambedkar. “A few miscreants tried to tamper with BR Ambedkar’s statue at Town hall. We caught them and a case has been registered and an investigation is going on. The motive behind the incident is yet to be found out,” Jagjit Singh Walia, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police highlighted.
