Tense situation in Lucknow over Ambedkar's statue: Police deployed, situation normal, says DCP

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 13 (ANI): The situation in Lucknow, which briefly turned tense following a protest by villagers over BR Ambedkar's statue, has been brought under control, according to DCP Gopal Krishan Choudhary.
Police forces remain deployed at the site, while negotiations involving public representatives are underway to resolve the issue peacefully.
Speaking to ANI, DCP Choudhary said, "Police forces are present on the spot for the purpose of peace order. However, negotiations are being held by the legislature and other public representatives. The problem will be resolved by negotiating. Negotiations are being held with all parties. The situation is normal on the spot. The situation went out of control for sometime but now everything is normal."
Meanwhile, on Saturday, clashes broke out between police and villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Khantari village in Lucknow. The villagers allegedly pelted stones on the police forces, due to which the situation became tense.

According to the information, the clashes occurred when the police arrived in the village to allegedly remove the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar. The police did a lathi charge on the villagers after the incident to control the situation. BJP MLA Yogesh Shukla reached the incident spot to ensure dialogues with the villagers.
According to MLA Yogesh Shukla, the statue was kept without permission and will be restored by following every procedure.
Shukla added, "This is a matter of Ambedkar's statue and we want this matter to be resolved peacefully. There was no permission to place the statue, this is the order of the Supreme Court. The statue will be kept, but there is a process and system for it; we cannot break the system. I want that the statue should be kept and the wishes of the villagers should be fulfilled and the law should also be protected, which should be kept according to the law written by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar." (ANI)