BJP chief Amit Shah said: “As a party, we in the BJP believe that a wide range of ideas and ideologies can coexist in India.”
Following reports of vandalism across the country, BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday said the incidents were unfortunate and the party does not support such acts. The BJP chief’s comments come nearly an hour after Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Prime Minister had expressed his strong disapproval towards such incidents. In the last three days, statues of Marxist leader Lenin, Dravidian leader Periyar and Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee have been vandalised.
“The recent issue of destroying of statues is extremely unfortunate. We as a party do not support the bringing down of anybody’s statue,” Shah said issuing a warning that any party member associated with such acts would be punished. “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 tweeted.
Any person associated with the BJP found to be involved with destroying any statue will face severe action from the party
The 53-year-old also said that his party believed in the coexistence of multiple ideologies in the country. “As a party, we in the BJP believe that a wide range of ideas and ideologies can coexist in India. This is exactly how the makers of our Constitution envisioned our great nation to be. India’s diversity and the vibrant spirit of debate and discussion is what strengthens us.”
Express Editorial | BJP win in Tripura was shored up by its promises of change, development. Vandalism and violence sour the mandate
Barely 48 hours after BJP came to power in Tripura, party supporters razed a statue of Lenin in Tripura’s Belonia on Monday with the help of a JCB amid cries of “bharat mata ki jai’’. The incident triggered violence and clashes between rival political groups in different parts of the state prompting similar incidents across the country. On Tuesday, two men allegedly vandalised a Periyar statue in Vellore a few hours after Tamil Nadu BJP leader H Raja said statues of Dravidian icon E V Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ “will be brought down”.
On Wednesday, a statue of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookjeree was vandalised in Kolkata, following which six people were arrested.
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- Mar 7, 2018 at 11:39 amDoes anyone believe Amit Shah's statement? Why have you not punished such elements elsewhere in Haryana, Bihar, UP, MP. Kerala and elsewhere. Are we breaking our nation just by hurting the sentiments of others. Never seen this in my 65 years of living. The last 4 years have changed the religious tolerance.Reply
