Keen to install statues of saints, religious leaders, political figures, freedom fighters and martyrs in public places, theYogi Adityanathgovernment has moved theSupreme Courtseeking relaxation of its eight-year-old order banning such activities.

TheSCs order came in a case from Gujarat, where a 2006 court order for removal of religious structures encroaching public places, including roads, at Vadodara had led a mob to pelt the district court with stones and damage vehicles. A series of reports on this incident was taken cognisance of by theGujaratHC, which directed the authorities to remove all religious structures from public places.