Published Oct 24, 2026 | 4:06 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 24, 2026 | 4:07 PM
Giant Lord Ram statue, installed for Dasara at Basheerbagh.
Police were deployed in large numbers at the Basheerbagh crossroads in Hyderabad as a statue of Lord Ram installed there for Dasara celebrations was taken down by the temple authorities in the early hours of Saturday, October 24, amid a controversy triggered by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s demands to rename the junction as ‘Sriram Chowk’.
The large statue, installed as part of the nearby Kanaka Durga temple’s Navaratri festivities –which concluded on October 20– was removed by the temple trust at the direction of the civic authorities. It was removed and loaded onto a truck on Saturday amid heavy police presence. The civic authorities directed the removal of the statue reportedly after a complaint by Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjed Ullah Khan.
The complaint followed a social post by VHP national spokesperson Ravinuthala Shashidhar, urging the public to refer to the junction as “Sriram Chowk.”
In an X post on October 19, Shashidhar, who is also the general secretary of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS), along with other functionaries of the organisation, posted a video from near the statue and urged people to call the junction “Sriram Chowk.”
He also stated that he would petition the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials seeking a tent over the statue and the formal recognition of the name “Sriram Chowk” for the junction. Shashidhar also asked his supporters to print the template letter and submit it in large numbers to local authorities.
On October 23, BJP leader and former Saroornagar corporator Akula Srivani questioned the identity of ‘Basheer’ in the name Basheerbagh and his contribution to the society. Srivani also urged his supporters to ‘popularise’ the name proposed by the VHP leader and called for Hyderabad to be renamed as Bhagyanagar.
Responding to the right-wing leaders, Amjed Ullah Khan issued a statement explaining that Basheerbagh was named after Bashir-ud-Dowla Nawab Asman Jah Bahadur, the prime minister of the erstwhile Hyderabad State from 1887 to 1894. He claimed that Bashir-ud-Dowla had built the Basheer Bagh Palace in 1880 and invited gold and diamond traders to settle around it.
In his statement, Khan questioned the calls made by the VHP and BJP leaders to rename the public road and asked under what law a party or organisation could do so. He also alleged that the large Lord Ram idol was put up near the junction without the permission of civic authorities.
Khan further questioned the barricading of roads towards Nizam College Ground and Fateh Maidan. He asked why the intelligence wing failed to act on incidents that could potentially cause tensions in the city.
“Despite the major encroachment, why are the police and the GHMC silent? Why are the BRS and Congress leaders silent too?” Khan questioned. He also gave a ‘Chalo Abids police station’ call to file an official complaint over the allegations.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
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