Gandhi, Ambedkar, Shivaji statues shifted within Parl premises
New Delhi: Statues of Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji among others have been relocated within Parliament premises as part of a landscaping exercise, a move sharply criticised by the Congress which said they have been moved from their places of prominence in front of Parliament House.
The statues, including those of tribal leader Birsa Munda and Maharana Pratap, are now in a lawn between the old Parliament building and the Parliament library.
Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X, “Statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar have just been removed from their places of prominence in front of the Parliament House. This is atrocious.”
Later, in a statement, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said due to their location at different places in the Parliament premises, visitors were not able to see these statues conveniently.
“For this reason, all these statues are being respectfully installed in a grand ‘Prerna Sthal’ in the Parliament House premises. This ‘Prerna Sthal’ is being developed in such a way that the visitors coming to visit the Parliament complex view the statues of these great persons conveniently and get inspired by their life experiences,” the statement said.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat asserted that the Parliament House complex comes under the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha Speaker and earlier also, statues were shifted inside the complex with the permission of the Speaker.
“It is clear that no statue of any great person has been removed from the Parliament House complex, rather they are being installed in an orderly and respectful manner inside the Parliament House complex,” the statement said.
Attacking the BJP, Congress’s media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said when Maharashtra voters did not vote for BJP, the statues of Shivaji and Ambedkar were removed from their original place in Parliament.
When they did not get clean sweep in Gujarat, they removed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi from its original place in Parliament, he said.
“Just think, if they had been given 400 seats, would they have spared the Constitution?” Khera said in a post in Hindi on X.
In its statement, the Lok Sabha secretariat also said the arrangements are also being made to provide visitors with detailed information about the life and contribution of these great persons and freedom fighters through modern technology at this ‘prerna sthal’ so that the people visiting can get inspired by their life and thoughts.
The Parliament premises will sport a new look when the 18th Lok Sabha convenes for its maiden session in June as work is underway to integrate the entire complex, comprising four different buildings.
