Three decades on, the wait for Indira Gandhi’s statue continues

The project has been mired in obstacles ever since it was first proposed in 1986

CHENNAI, 19/11/2017 : For City : A monument in wilderness : The area earmarked for installing the Statue of former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi, lies in shambles for a decade long, in wait for a suitable political alingment at the junction of Anna salai opposite Spencer Plaza in chennai on Sunday. Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

The leaders and functionaries of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) observed the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by garlanding her portrait at Satyamurti Bhavan here on Sunday. But, what continues to bother a section of party members is the inability, for the past three decades, to install a statue of the late leader, which was supposed to come up along the Anna Salai – Binny Road junction.

Though the idea of installing a statue of the country’s first woman Prime Minister was first proposed by advocate A. Esaiah as early as in 1986, the initiative has since been mired in obstacles. When Mr. Esaiah sought permission for the project from the then Corporation of Madras, he was directed to approach the Highways department.

Despite consistent efforts, the location for the statue couldn’t be finalised, as the government at the time had plans to install a statue of another leader at the proposed location for the one commemorating Indira Gandhi.

Legal wrangle

What followed was litigation in the Madras High Court over the issue, involving the Congress leader and the State government. The case witnessed several twists and turns, as several leaders submitted affidavits, with one even claiming that he was the president of the All India Amitabh Bachchan Fans Association — a post that petitioner Esaiah had claimed to hold. “After several twists, we obtained permission to install the statue in the said location. But, the advocate was not well then,” said a party functionary. Meanwhile, the Congress party split in the State, and a faction led by G.K. Moopanar came to be known as the Tamil Maanila Congress.

Moopanar was apparently quite particular about the perfection of the statue, which a sculptor could not provide. “And then, the party sought another sculptor to make the statue. In the late 90s, the TMC was an ally of the DMK, which came to power in 1996, and Moopanar made great efforts to get the statue installed. The pedestal you see now was installed in 1997,” he recalled.

Moopanar died a few years later, and since then, there has not been any notable effort to complete the unfinished work. “Now, the party has again been divided, with Moopanar’s son G.K. Vasan heading the TMC. Neither that party nor our party has made efforts [to install the statue],” he lamented.