After a statue of Russian leader Vladimir Lenin was brought down at Belonia College Square in Agartala on Monday following the BJP's victory in the Tripura Assembly elections, there have been reports of vandalism of statues, and protests against the Tripura incident.
Adding fuel to the fire was a post on BJP national secretary H. Raja's Facebook page about ''pulling down'' staues of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in Tamil Nadu. It triggered Statewide protests. Mr. Raja subsequently removed the post and expressed regret.
Prime Minister Narendra had spoken to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on vandalism of statues in some parts of the country. Mr. Modi strongly disapproved the incidents reported from certain parts of the country. Incidents of toppling of statues have been reported from certain parts of the country, government sources said.
Here are the latest updates:
Four persons, attached to the Dravida Viduthalai Kazhagam, who confessed that they had snatched the sacred thread, and pulled the tuft, of an elderly man in Triplicane on Wednesday morning, surrendered before the Assistant Commissioner Royapettah later in the afternoon.
Makkal Needhi Maiam founder and actor Kamal Haasan has urged the BJP to take action against Mr. Raja for his controversial post. Mr. Haasan told journalists in Chennai that Mr. Raja’s comments were an attempt to distract attention from more important issues facing Tamil Nadu.
Left protests in Hyderabad
Left Party activists burn effigies in protest in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Left parties protested in Hyderabad on Wednesday by burning effigies. They condemned vandalism of the statue of Lenin and attacks on CPI(M) workers in Tripura.
Periyar in Parliament
AIADMK MPs protest against the vandalisation of a Periyar statue in Tamil Nadu, outside Parliament House.
On Wednesday, during the Budget session of Parliament, AIADMK members protested against the vandalism incidents.
BJP expels party functionary
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilsai Soundarajan expelled R. Muthuraman, a party functionary, who was arrested for damaging a Periyar statue in Tiruppattur in Vellore district on Tuesday.
BJP general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, P. Muralidhar Rao too expressed his anger at the incident. “BJP does not subscribe to any kind of provoking or disrespectful statements and actions of vandalism towards leaders like Periyar. We condemn outrightly those people who are indulging in such actions,” he said on Twitter.
Amit Shah condemns violence
BJP national president Amit Shah spoke to units in both Tripura and Tamil Nadu to counsel peace and to initiate action against those who were party to any defacement. “I have spoken to the party units in both Tamil Nadu and Tripura. Any person associated with the BJP found to be involved with destroying any statue will face severe action from the party,” he said in a tweet.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee statue vandalised in Kolkata
Members of a leftist students group from Jadavpur University damaged a stone bust of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in Kolkata on Wednesday morning. Six persons, including a woman, have been taken into custody by police.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s statue at Keoratala crematorium in south Kolkata.
In a video, accessed by The Hindu , many students with hammer and paints are seen reaching the Keoratala crematorium in south Kolkata. At least three of them climb up the platform where the bust is placed and start hammering it. Others paint the face black. They are also seen raising slogans demanding an answer from the Union government on damage to statues of Periyar in Tamil Nadu and a Lenin's statue in Tripura.
"Periyar, Lenin, Ambedkar-er murti bhanga holo keno, BJP sarkar jobab dao.” [We are asking BJP government why Periyar, Ambedkar and Lenin's statues were vandalised.]
Heavy security at Tamil Nadu BJP headquarters
Policemen outside the BJP headquarters Kamalalayam in Chennai.
Heavy security has been posted outside the BJP headquarters, 'Kamalalayam', located in T. Nagar, Chennai, to prevent any untoward incidents. The Vaidyaraman Street has been barricaded on both sides and people are allowed in only after a verification of their identity.
Petrol bombs hurled at BJP office in Coimbatore
Unidentified persons hurled two petrol bombs at the BJP office in Coimbatore around 3.20 a.m on Wednesday, police said.
The bombs hit the wall of the two-storeyed building on VKK Menon Road near Gandhipuram. The party office is situated on the first floor.
Balu, a member of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam, has been taken into custody in connection with the attack. The policeman, who was on security duty at the BJP office had seen three persons running away after throwing the bombs. The police are continuing the search for the other two.
Khushbu dares BJP to expel H. Raja
Congress spokesperson and actor Khushbu, in a series of tweets, dared the BJP to expel H. Raja for his comments on removing Periyar statues in Tamil Nadu.
Khushbu acted as Periyar's wife in a biopic with actor Sathyaraj.
CPI, BJP office-bearers taken into custody
A statue of Periyar near a taluk office in Tiruppattur was vandalised on Tuesday evening.
According to the police, Francis, town deputy secretary of the CPI, and Muthuraman, town secretary of the BJP, reportedly hurled stones at the statue at 7.30 p.m. in a drunken state The duo, who were relatives, have been taken into custody. The statue bore a slight damage on the face and hands.
BJP has no right to demolish statues, says West Bengal CM
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she would not “tolerate” attacks on “supporters” of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the pulling down of the Lenin statue in Tripura.
“Karl Marx or Mohamati [The Great] Lenin are not my leaders. But they do matter in Russia. Different people are leaders in different countries and different places formed this [the world]…but you [BJP]do not have the right to raze the statues of Marx or Lenin, just because you came to power.”
“In fact you [BJP] have no right to demolish statues of Gandhiji, Marx, Lenin, Swami Vivekananda or Netaji [Subhas Chandra Bose],” Ms. Banerjee said in a public rally in Bankura district.
Home Ministry asks Tripura Governor to check violence
Amid reports of sporadic violence in Tripura , the Union Home Minister on Tuesday spoke to the State Governor and the DGP and asked them to ensure peace till a new government is installed, an official said.
''Foreign leaders' statues have no place in India''
The government condemned all kinds of violence, but statues of foreign leaders have no place in India, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said on Tuesday.
“We condemn all kinds of violence and the State government is handling the situation. But I want to make it clear that statues of foreign leaders are not required in India. I don’t want to take anyone’s name but I want to say that we have no place for them,” he said.
''Leaders' statues have been demolished or defiled in the past'
“What one democratically elected government can do another democratically elected government can undo. And vice versa,” Tripura Governor Tathagatha Roy tweeted on Tuesday.
Mr. Roy is believed to have referred to instances of statues of leaders iconic to other parties demolished or defiled in the past. They include those of Rajiv Gandhi immediately after the Left Front won the elections in 2008.
