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Lucknow: Four
unidentified miscreants vandalised a life-size statue of former
Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP chief Mayawati in a Lucknow
park Thursday, police said. The party threatened "dire
consequences" if the statue was not repaired speedily.
According to police, four youths entered the sprawling Ambedkar
Park in the posh Gomtinagar area around 1.30 p.m. and attacked the
statue.
As the security guards tried to stop them, the youths pushed them
aside and struck the statue with a hammer, breaking the hands,
ripping off the head from the torso, and leaving many marks on the
face. The purse in the statue's hands was also ripped off and
broken.
Before the four sped away on motorbikes, they left a pamphlet in
the name of Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena, saying they had promised
to break the statue on March 15, 2012 - the day the new Samajwadi
Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav was sworn in.
The act came in for condemnation from all political parties, who
hit out at the state government for its "inefficiency".
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari questioned the law and order
situation in the state and said that the incident was unfortunate.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kalraj Mishra also called it a
serious and unfortunate incident, and called for immediate arrest
of the youths involved in the act.
The state unit of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), meanwhile,
threatened the state government of dire consequences if the statue
was not restored on Thursday itself.
"If the statue of our leader is not restored today (Thursday)
itself, the government should be prepared to face the fallout,"
said Leader of Opposition Swamy Prasad Maurya.
The chief minister too issued a statement condemning the incident
and said that action would be taken against those involved. He
also termed it "a planned move by divisive forces to disturb the
peace in the state".
Akhilesh Yadav also ordered the restoration of the statue.
Police have, meanwhile, sounded an alert across the state in case
BSP workers take to the streets to protest. Director General of
Police A.C. Sharma and the principal secretary of home have
discussed the matter with officials and would hold a formal
briefing for press at 5 p.m.
The statue was unveiled on July 25, 2009, by then Public Works
Department minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui.
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