More statue vandalism prompts Modi to step in
NEWDELHI: It began with Lenin in Tripura. It was Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in West Bengal. It was B R Ambedkar in UP. And it went all the way to Periyar in Tamil Nadu.
As the country witnessed an increasing spate of incidents of vandalism of statues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally stepped in, condemning the incidents with a strict directive that there will be a crackdown on all such activities. The opposition blamed it on BJP’s intolerance, even as the BJP called it ‘extremely unfortunate’, distanced itself from the incidents, and said that there would be strict disciplinary action against any worker found engaged in such acts.
On Monday, after BJP’s sweep in the Tripura elections, Lenin’s statue was brought down in Belonia town. The CPM alleged this was done by BJP workers. While the BJP general secretary, Ram Madhav, first posted a jubilant tweet, which he deleted subsequently, the party later called it an act of private individuals.
This was followed by a BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, H Raja’s statement that it was Periyar’s turn next. In Vellore, on Tuesday night, his statue was vandalised. Two individuals, one from BJP and one from Communist Party of India, were arrested in connection with the incident. In UP’s Meerut, again on Tuesday night again, a B R Ambedkar statue was vandalised, prompting the Dalit community to block roads and organise protests. And in Kolkata, on Wednesday morning, students defaced the bust of BJP’s own political icon, Mukherjee.
The government however decisively stepped in on Wednesday.
Modi strongly condemned statues of public figures being vandalised and said that stern action must be taken against those found guilty.
A Home Ministry statement said the PM had spoken to Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard. The statement added, “MHA has asked the states that they must take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents. Persons indulging in such acts must be sternly dealt with and booked under relevant provisions of law.” Two advisories were sent in this regard to state and union territory governments. The second one said that district magistrates and superintendents of police will be “personally responsible” for ensuring that the law and order remained firmly under control in their jurisdiction.
The advisory come a day after Singh spoke Tripura governor Tathagata Roy after the latter appeared to justify the razing of a statue of Russian revolutionary Vladamir Lenin in south Tripura. But the opposition placed the blame on BJP.
Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the damage to the statue of Dravidian icon, social activist and rationalist leader EV Ramasamy popularly known as Periyar in Tamil Nadu was an insult to the entire country. “In Tamil Nadu, the statue of Periyar was removed and damaged. It is a very big insult of not only people of Tamil Nadu, but also the people of the country who believe in his ideology,” he told reporters in the Parliament House complex. “In a democracy, there are people who believe in all kinds of ideologies. There is no tolerance among the BJP people and they are turning intolerant.”