The apex court said there should not be any "hindrance" in holding the Ambedkar Jayanti function and temporary construction and renovation could be carried out by the state in Ambedkar Park. A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan warned the state government against carrying out any permanent construction saying that the matter was pending before the Allahabad high court.
Passers by noticed the damaged statue in Ambedkar Nagar area in the morning and a crowd soon gathered there demanding immediate arrest of those responsible, police said.
The sources further said that around five statues, including of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhim Rao Ambedkar, in the Parliament complex are also likely to be relocated temporarily due to the construction work and they will be reinstalled at prominent places within the new complex once the project is completed.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday extended its support to a protest organised by Delhi University teachers, employees and students' unions over police inaction into allegations of sexual harassment against a Delhi University college principal by a sacked employee who later committed suicide.