Yellow, saffron and white: Paint job at UP Congress office gets a shade political

The incident followed a similar controversy over a statue of freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi being painted saffron in a Shahjahanpur village.

Even as the Opposition protested against a Mahatma Gandhi statue allegedly being painted saffron in a Shahjahanpur village, a similar issue involving the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) office in Lucknow created a flutter among party workers on Friday.

A Congress party worker waves the party flag during a function. Congress leaders insisted that the UPCC office walls had been painted yellow by mistake, but photographs of the structure purportedly painted in a shade of saffron – a colour associated with the ruling BJP – went viral on the social media. (AP)

Congress leaders insisted that the UPCC office walls had been painted yellow by mistake, but photographs of the structure purportedly painted in a shade of saffron – a colour associated with the ruling BJP – went viral on the social media. Later, the Congress repainted the walls white to avoid any further confusion.

“We had selected the German Yellow shade for our walls but the labourer painted the wall yellow by mistake. This created some confusion. We then decided to repaint the walls white,” clarified UPCC media coordinator Rajiv Bakshi.

Meanwhile, UPCC president Raj Babbar on Friday criticised the act of painting the Mahatma Gandhi statue saffron. “Some people are trying to divide the society and spread hatred by painting the statues of great leaders. Mahatma Gandhi used white clothes, symbolising peace and purity, to cover himself. Painting his statue in a different colour amounts to disrespecting him,” he said.