Lucknow: Barely two months since her statue was unveiled, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has had it pulled down as it appears dwarfed by the figure of her political mentor Kanshi Ram standing alongside.
The work of dismantling the statue and replacing it with a larger one started late Sunday night at Samajik Parivartan Prateek Sthal on Gandhi Setu, sources said.
Mayawati had unveiled her statue alongside that of BSP founder Kanshi Ram on Bhim Rao Ambedkar's birth anniversary, April 14.
Across the road overlooking the river Gomti, statues of Ambedkar and his wife Rambai Ambedkar were installed and while the other figures are 15 feet high and weigh around 18 tonnes, the one of the BSP chief is only 12 feet tall, the sources said.
They said work for the new statue was started immediately after it was unveiled on April 14 when she pointed out that it was too "small".
Ever since being catapulted back to power in the state last year, Mayawati has commissioned several statues of herself and of other Dalit icons.
She has also gone on record as saying the belief about erecting statues of people only posthumously is "outdated".
Prateek Sthal was developed at a cost of Rs 10 crore and is situated near the entrance to Mayawati's dream project Ambedkar Park, the renovation of which is in full swing.
The Mayawati government apparently plans to develop the park into a "pilgrimage" centre for BSP activists.
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