A decision to clothe the statue of Gandhian freedom fighter and Odisha’s second chief minister Nabakrushna Choudhuri in western attire instead of the dhoti and khadi kurta he wore all his life has triggered protests.

Hundreds of youths and some Gandhian leaders from the Gandhi Peace Foundation have hit the streets protesting against the attire of the statue, installed at Angul, an industrial town 140km from Bhubaneswar, on April 1.

The protesters alleged distortion of history as Choudhuri, a leader of the Congress, was not known to have ever worn coat and trousers. His daughter Krishna Mohanty, 85, said Choudhuri was even averse to the idea of installing statues given the state of neglect they soon found themselves in.

The 6ft statue made of fibre was installed on the occasion of Odisha Foundation Day (Utkal Divas).

Krishna Mohanty, Choudhuri’s daughter, told The Telegraph on Tuesday: “I believe installing a statue is not required at all to remember someone. My father was a freedom fighter and a Gandhian known for his simplicity. He had never worn a coat, trousers and shoes. How could the administration dress up the statue like that? “

She added: “It’s sheer irresponsibility and clearly points to the administration’s lackof knowledge of history andthe lifestyle of the freedomfighters. My father only had three pairs of dhotis and khadi kurtas.

“Both my father and mother were opposed to the installation of statues. My father had publicly expressed his views against the installation of statues when he noticed the disfigured statue of a freedom fighter. We have all seen how nobody takes care of statues. Birds use them as a place for rest and often cover them with their droppings.”

The Odisha president of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, Justice Manoranjan Mohanty, told this newspaper: “I was pained to see the statue. We have a book — Emiti Bii Mukshya Mantri Thille (There is such a chief minister) — and hundreds of pictures of Nabakrushna Choudhuri in the library and museum. How could the administration dare to install a statue of him clothed in coat and trousers?... Merely an apology would not suffice. The entire chain of officers involved in making the statute should be suspended.”

Another Gandhian, Sailaja Rabi, said: “It’s an unpardonable mistake. A prominent leader like Choudhuri has been shown wearing foreign clothes. He was a freedom fighter, had fought against the British and participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement. He had gone to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to learn the art of spinning khadi.”

Gandhi Peace Foundation secretary Birupakshya Tripathy said: “At least, the administration should have consulted the family. As many as 11 statues of freedom fighters have been installed by the administration. Not a single one matches the personality of the person. The entire administration should be blamed. We submitted a memorandum to the chief minister’s office on Tuesday.”

The Angul municipal administration has apologised and assured the protesters that the error will be rectified. “We apologise for the error. We will come up with a new statue,” the chairman of the municipality, Askshaya Kumar Samant, said.