The Opposition parties have often held protest marches and agitations within the Parliament complex before the statues.
Published Jun 19, 2024 | 6:15 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 19, 2024 | 6:15 PM
Workers removing Ambedkar statue from the Parliament premise and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge (X)
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman over the shifting of statues of Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and other national leaders to a new location in the Parliament complex and demanded that they be restored to their original places.
Statues of Mahatma Gandhi, BR Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji, among others, were relocated within the Parliament premises as part of a landscaping exercise on Thursday, 6 June.
In his letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman, he said the statues of national leaders have been relocated to a separate corner “artbitrarily” without any consultation and this amounts to violation of the basic spirit of democracy.
“I wish to emphasise at the very threshold that such removal of these statues arbitrarily, without any consultation, violates the basic spirit of our democracy. Needless to mention that the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and other national leaders were situated at prominent locations after due deliberation and consideration. Each statue and its location across the Parliament House complex held immense value and significance,” Kharge said in his letter sent separately to the Speaker and RS Chairman.
The Congress chief, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, pointed out that there is a dedicated committee for installing portraits and statues of national leaders and MPs in the Parliament House Complex – “Committee on the Installation of Portraits and Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in the Parliament House Complex” but the panel has not been reconstituted since 2019.
“Hence, such decisions made without any proper discussion and deliberation with relevant stakeholders are against the rules and traditions of our Parliament. Therefore, I demand that the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and other national leaders who greatly contributed for the unity and integrity of our nation must be relocated to their original locations with due respect and regard,” he wrote.
Sharing the text of my letters to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Speaker of the Lok Sabha on the relocation of statues of major leaders in the Parliament House complex.
I am writing this letter in the context of relocation of statues of major leaders in the Parliament House… pic.twitter.com/yf26TUGoLs
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 19, 2024
Reacting to the move, the Congress on Sunday, 16 June had claimed that the decision to relocate statues within the Parliament premises was taken by the ruling regime “unilaterally” and its sole objective was to not have the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar that have been traditional sites of democratic protests right next to where the Parliament actually meets.
The Opposition party’s attack came just before Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurating the ‘Prerna Sthal‘, which will House all statues of the freedom fighters and other leaders that were earlier placed at different places in the Parliament complex.
The opposition parties have often held protest marches and agitations within the Parliament complex before the statues of Gandhi and Ambedkar.
(Edited by Neena with PTI inputs)
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