The Arkansas government has denied a request from a Hindu society to erect a Hindu statue on Capitol grounds next to a Ten Commandments monument in the state capital Little Rock.
Arkansas Chief Deputy Secretary of State Kelly Boyd sent a letter to Universal Society of Hinduism President Rajan Zed on Aug. 17 telling him that the "Office of the Secretary of State is unable to comply with your request to place a Lord Hanuman statue on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol."
The society sent a request to put up a privately funded statue on the Arkansas State Capitol grounds after Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law a legislation passed by the Arkansas General Assembly that allows the placement of a Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds.
Zed said the society is now considering sending the request to the governor, reports said.
In his letter to the Arkansas Secretary of State, Zed said, "If permitted, we would arrange this Lord Hanuman statue to be constructed, designed and paid for by private funds at no expense to the state."
"If permitted, we planned to make it big and weatherproof," Zed said in a statement. "Besides honouring the Arkansas Hindus, this statue would raise awareness of Arkansans about Hinduism, oldest and third-largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought."
Chris Powell, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the society was the only group that sent a formal request to erect a statue. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also sent an idea but it was rejected as it violated state policies.
"That was for a banner they wanted to hang across the front of the Capitol that would have said, 'Give peas a chance.' I don't know if we answered that request, but in the picture it would have taken up half of the columns. It violated our display policy," he said.
Zed said there about 3 million Hindus in the US.
A group of devil worshippers known as the Satanic Temple is also reportedly planning to apply for a location in Arkansas where they can erect an almost nine-foot-tall bronze statue of Baphomet, which depicts Satan as a goat-headed figure with horns and wings.
The Satanic Temple earlier tried to erect the statue at the Oklahoma Capitol but was rejected by the state government.
Last June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma Capitol was unconstitutional.
