Various Dalit organisations have demanded the immediate transfer of BMRCL MD Sivasailam. They were protesting the chaining of the statue of B R Ambedkar in front of the Vidhana Soudha by the Namma Metro authorities, where underground works are going on.
After a meeting with Chief Secretary S V Ranganath, Bahujan Samaj Party state president M Muniyappa and Dalit leader N Murthy said that the state government had tendered its apology for the incident. The statue was chained by BMRCL authorities ostensibly to protect the structure. BMRCL had submitted an affidavit before the HC in relation to a PIL filed by a city advocate seeking direction to shift the statue temporarily from the project site. The additional cost could be as high as Rs 100 crore, the BMRCL had said.
The PWD shifted the statues of Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose as early in 2009. However, the Ambedkar statue could not be relocated following objections.