Statues can be pulled down but not ideologies: Raj Babbar

Reacting sharply to pulling down of the statue of Communist icon Lenin in Tripura, UP Congress president Raj Babbar on Tuesday said statues of great personalities could be demolished but their ideology would always remain intact.

“Statues of great personalities can be demolished by those who don’t like them but the ideology of these leaders cannot be pulled down as it exists in the hearts and minds of its followers,” Babbar said while talking to media persons after campaigning for Congress candidate for Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll scheduled on March 11.

Babbar refused to comment on chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s remark on SP-BSP alliance but said deal between the two parties was a give and take pact.

“An alliance based on personal interest cannot succeed in defeating communal powers. One party has agreed to support another in Rajya Sabha election while in return it would extend support in Vidhan Parishad. We also had an alliance (with SP) but our partnership had a cause and an ideology to promote peace and harmony in the state,” he said.

Babbar said Yogi should not worry about by-elections as UP government would not collapse if BJP lost this election.

He said the Congress party had sealed an alliance with the poor and the underprivileged who would help the party win both the Lok Sabha seats.

Questioning the efficacy of EVMs, he said: “I don’t know what is wrong with EVMs. It generates BJP slips even if it is out of order,” he said.

When asked about the statement of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who allegedly said India would become like Syria if Ayodhya issue was not resolved, Babbar said no intellectual person should get into the debate so that harmony could prevail.