A newly installed statue of Lord Ram at the Basheerbagh crossroads in Hyderabad was removed by temple authorities following a controversy sparked by the VHP's demand to rename the junction as Sriram Chowk. The removal, prompted by an MBT leader's complaint and civic directives, drew sharp criticism from political figures who accused the government of disregarding Hindu sentiments.

A newly installed statue of Lord Ram at the Basheerbagh crossroads in Hyderabad was removed by temple authorities following a controversy sparked by the VHP's demand to rename the junction as Sriram Chowk. The removal, prompted by an MBT leader's complaint and civic directives, drew sharp criticism from political figures who accused the government of disregarding Hindu sentiments.

A newly installed statue of Lord Ram at the Basheerbagh crossroads in Hyderabad was removed by temple authorities following a controversy sparked by the VHP's demand to rename the junction as Sriram Chowk. The removal, prompted by an MBT leader's complaint and civic directives, drew sharp criticism from political figures who accused the government of disregarding Hindu sentiments.

A statue of Lord Ram installed at the Basheerbagh crossroads in Hyderabad for Dasara celebrations was removed by temple authorities following a controversy over the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) demand to rename the junction as ‘Sriram Chowk’.

The statue, installed as part of the Navaratri festivities at the Kanaka Durga temple, was taken down following directions from civic authorities after Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjed Ullah Khan filed a complaint.

The controversy erupted after VHP national spokesperson Ravinuthala Shashidhar demanded in a social media post that the Basheerbagh junction be renamed ‘Sriram Chowk’. Following the demand, questions were also raised from certain quarters about the identity of ‘Basheer’, after whom the area was named, and his contribution to society.

Responding to these questions, Amjed Ullah Khan clarified in a statement that Basheerbagh was named after Bashir-ud-Dowla Nawab Asman Jah Bahadur, who served as the prime minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State between 1887 and 1894.

Meanwhile, the removal of the statue drew criticism from former Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) corporator from Saroornagar, Akula Srivani, who accused the state government and police of disregarding Hindu sentiments.

"This highlights the cowardice of the police department and the Congress government. We submitted a request to install an idol of Lord Sri Rama and to officially rename the intersection as Sri Rama Chowk," she said.

Srivani alleged that the authorities had acted under pressure from the Owaisi brothers and others. "Despite this request, the government and the police acted out of cowardice, giving in to the pressure of the Owaisi brothers and others. They claim it is a religious act, but this is not about religion," she said.

She further alleged that the Congress government and police were favouring one side while ignoring the sentiments of Hindus.

Following the removal of the statue, security has been stepped up around the Basheerbagh crossroads to prevent any untoward incidents.

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