Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and workers of BJP protested and also blocked the Moradabad-Haridwar highway in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, December 18, to demand the removal of Padma Bhushan awardee and well-known table player Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan Thirakwa statue installed at a main crossing road of Moradabad. The road leading to the statue was also named after him.
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A large number of local residents also joined the agitators, who raised slogans against the Moradabad Municipal Corporation and warned of launching a sustained agitation if the statue was not removed soon and replaced with that of Subhash Chandra Bose. The statue was covered by black polythene.
Moradabad Protest
Ustad Ahmed Khan died in 1976 at the age of 84 years. He was a skilled percussionist who could play several instruments. He had enthralled the audience for many decades. The statue of him was placed at the crossing last week.