Janjivan Bureau / NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said today statues of foreign leaders have no place in India. Ahir’s comment comes after a statue of Communist icon Lenin was demolished in South Tripura’s Belonia town by suspected BJP workers.
Lenin’s statue was toppled on Monday in Belonia town in south Tripura, about 90 km from state capital Agartala . Violence broke out in some parts of the state following BJP’s victory in assembly elections that saw the ouster of the Manik Sarkar-led CPI(M) from power after 25 years.
“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,” Ahir told in response to a question about Lenin’s statue being pulled down.
He added that the country had produced enough icons and ideologues, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, B R Ambedkar, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Ram Manohar Lohia, for people to eulogise.
Union Home Munister Rajnath Singh has called up Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy and DGP A K Shukla and asked them to ensure peace and check violence till a new government is installed in the state.
There have been reports of violence, which erupted following the BJP-IPFT alliance’s victory over the CPI-M, ousting the Manik Sarkar led government in the polls.
