In Tripura statues of Soviet Communist icon Vladimir Lenin, of Jan Sangh (now BJP), founder Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in Kolkata, of Dravid Movement icon Periyar EVR Ramaswami Naicker at Vellore in Tamil Nadu and of Dr BR Ambedkar in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh were vandalized by BJP activists, leftists and anti-social elements in a chain reaction that started from Tripura.
The Tripura ruled by the Communist Marxist Party for the last 25 years of five terms took a political ‘U’ turn by giving majority to the Rightist Bhartiya Janata Party. The Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi termed it as more an ideological victory over electoral political winning in the state.
In victory euphoria the BJP cadre demolished the two larger than life statues of Lenin in Tripura and it started in chain reaction in India. There were furor over it in the Parliament.
The Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Mr.Rajnath Singh, BJP President Mr.Amit Shah, Congress leader Mr.Mallikarjuna Khadge CPM leader Mr.Sitaram Yachury and most of others condemned the vandalism of statues of greatmen.
During the long 200 years British rule in capital Delhi and other big cities statues of Queen Victoria and Viceroys were installed and it remained there even after the Independence.
In the decade of 1950 it was Socialist leader Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia who asked the Government to remove and place these statues in museums. When no heed was paid to his suggestion, he gave a call to demolish these statues.
One such marble statue of Queen Victoria in Banaras was demolished by a mob. The Centre and State Government hurriedly removed all such British statues and replaced then the statues of National leaders.
In the decade of 1960 then Soviet Union the Party Supremo Nikita Krishnan assailed Late Marshal Stalin as cruel dictator and guilty of death of many persons in his notorious purging drive. His statues in Soviet Union and in other East European Communist countries were pulled down by bulldozers and the city Stalingrad was renamed as Volgagrad. He mummified dead body was removed from his grave at Red Square and buried somewhere else.
During the Gorbachev time the Russia rejected the ideology of Communism and changed the political name of the country from USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) to its geographical name Russia. The statues of Lenin were pulled down everywhere. The city of Saint Petersburg which was renamed as Leningrad was again rechanged to its original name Saint Petersburg.
During Communist rule in West Bengal a road square was named Lenin Sarni and a statue of Lenin installed and it is still there. When Communist came to power in Tripura they installed statues of Lenin there also and now with the change of Government from CPM to BJP the statues of Lenin demolished starting a chain reaction in the country.
