Durgapur, 30 August (H.S.): Political tensions have escalated in Durgapur following allegations that a statue of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was removed and dumped in a nearby forest. West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Shubhankar Sarkar strongly condemned the incident, saying it should not be viewed merely as the removal or desecration of a statue, but as an issue concerning India’s freedom struggle, democratic traditions and the history of nation-building.

Sarkar said, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not merely a Congress leader. He was a freedom fighter, India’s first Prime Minister and one of the principal architects of modern India.”

According to the Congress, the Nehru statue had stood for several years in front of a meditation centre near Harshavardhan Primary School in Durgapur. It was allegedly lifted with the help of a crane and later dumped in a nearby forest. The incident triggered protests by local Congress leaders, who demanded immediate restoration of the statue.

Sarkar questioned whether political differences could justify removing or disrespecting statues of important historical figures. He said ideological disagreements were part of democracy, but “no one has the right to insult the country’s first Prime Minister.”

The Pradesh Congress president demanded two immediate steps from the administration and police—the restoration of Nehru’s statue at its original location with due respect and the identification and arrest of those responsible for the incident.

Sarkar warned that if the demands were not met, the Congress could launch a broader democratic movement.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Chandrashekhar Bandyopadhyay denied any involvement of the BJP in the incident and said the party does not support such acts. He claimed that the matter was being politicised.

The exact circumstances behind the removal of the statue are expected to become clear once the police investigation progresses.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey