The cycle of vandalism began after statues of Lenin were brought down in Tripura yesterday.
New Delhi: Amid tit-for-tat vandalism of statues in Tripura, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed strong condemnation and warned of "stern action" against those responsible. He also spoke to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who has ordered all states to check such incidents. The Prime Minister intervened a day after two Lenin statues were pulled down in Tripura - which has voted the BJP to power after 25 years of Left rule - and a statue of Tamil icon EV Ramasamy or Periyar was vandalised in Tamil Nadu. In the latest in the statue wars, a bust of BJP icon Syama Prasad Mookerjee was damaged in Kolkata this morning.
Here are the top 10 updates on the big story:
- There is massive anger in Tamil Nadu, where a statue of Periyar was vandalised hours after a BJP leader suggested it in a controversial Facebook post responding to anger over Lenin statues being razed in Tripura.
- A petrol bomb was thrown at a BJP office in Coimbatore by three bikers in the early hours today. No one was hurt.
- After the incident, policemen are guarding a Periyar statue in Coimbatore.
- This morning, a Syama Prasad Mookerjee bust was blackened and its features smashed with a hammer in Kolkata, allegedly by six Jadavpur University students who are part of an ultra-left group. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the founder of the BJP's predecessor Jana Sangh.
- The cycle of vandalism began after two statues of Lenin were demolished in Tripura yesterday, allegedly by workers of the BJP, which defeated the Left in the northeastern state on Saturday.
- Apparently justifying the Tripura incidents, a BJP leader in Tamil Nadu, H Raja, suggested on Facebook that Periyar statues in his state could be next. "Who is Lenin and what is the connection between Lenin and India? What connection has India with Communists? Lenin's statue has been removed in Tripura. Today it is Lenin's statue in Tripura, tomorrow it will be the statue of caste fanatic EV Ramasamy," said the post, which the BJP leader deleted and later disowned after a huge backlash in Tamil Nadu.
- H Raja today "expressed regret" for his post and said: "Vandalising Periyar statues unacceptable. Facebook administration had posted that message without my permission. My intention was not to hurt anyone."
- H Raja's abject apology came around the same time BJP president Amit Shah posted his disapproval on Twitter. "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 posted.
- Social activist Periyar is a deeply revered figure in Tamil Nadu; he started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam, one of the first Dravidian outfits in the country.
- Protests erupted today in Tamil Nadu over Mr Raja's statement. A BJP worker arrested for vandalising the Periyar statue in Vellore has been expelled but the party is still facing the backlash over its senior leader's post on social media.
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