Bhopal, June 17 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh Congress will launch a three-day campaign from June 23 to demand the installation of a statue of Dr B. R. Ambedkar at the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court — a proposal that has sparked a huge controversy.

Announcing the campaign on Tuesday, State Congress President Jitu Patwari said the initiative aims to garner public support in Gwalior for the installation of the statue, which was earlier approved by the High Court registrar but later put on hold following opposition from a section of lawyers.

“Congress leaders and workers will begin a door-to-door campaign in Gwalior on June 23. On June 24, we will hold meetings with residents to discuss the issue. The campaign will culminate on June 25 with a day-long fast at the High Court premises,” Patwari said during a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Bhopal.

Also present at the press conference were Madhya Pradesh Congress in-charge Harish Chaudhary, former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, and senior leader Phool Singh Baraiya.

Harish Chaudhary accused the BJP and RSS of opposing the proposal and said the campaign would expose those trying to obstruct the installation. “We will take this issue to the people and highlight who is standing against Dr Ambedkar’s ideals,” he said.

Former CM Digvijaya Singh questioned the rationale behind the opposition. “If Dr Ambedkar’s statue can be installed at the Supreme Court premises, why not at the Madhya Pradesh High Court? The registrar had already approved the proposal. This controversy is being created unnecessarily,” Singh said. He had made similar remarks during his recent visit to Gwalior on Monday.

The issue traces back to February this year when a proposal to install Dr Ambedkar’s statue at the Gwalior bench was submitted and subsequently approved by a committee of the High Court. However, in March, a group of lawyers opposed to the move staged a protest at the court premises, leading to clashes with another group of lawyers who supported the installation.

Tensions further escalated when some lawyers opposing the statue allegedly tried to block the proposed site by hoisting the national flag there.

Despite the registrar, Yuval Raghuvanshi, approving the statue’s installation, sustained objections from a section of the legal fraternity led to the decision being put on hold. Since then, the Congress has been consistently demanding that the statue be installed as originally planned.

–IANS

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