Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that he was unaware of the incident wherein a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was removed in Doomdooma town of Tinsukia district two days ago.
The incident, which took place on Wednesday, sparked a massive controversy as videos of the statue being carried away by a crane circulated on social media, even as reports of it being replaced by a clock tower did the rounds.
“I am not aware of this decision taken by the district administration. Let me verify the facts. Assam owes so much to Mahatma Gandhi. He stood firmly with Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi when the Congress party led by (Jawaharlal) Nehru wanted to include Assam in Pakistan under the Grouping Plan,” Sarma wrote on X.
Protests erupted in Doomdooma following the removal of the 5.5-feet-tall statue using an excavator crane from Gandhi Chowk area. Durga Bhumij, the former Congress MLA from Doomdooma, led the agitation and claimed that the incident hurt the sentiments of locals.
Sitting MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rupesh Gowala disapproved the claims and told HT, “This is a politically motivated controversy. The old statue was in a dilapidated state with its nose broken, the walking stick replaced by a bamboo stick and the spectacles missing. The area where the statue was placed was also not in good shape. That’s why the local municipal body decided to carry out a beautification project and the removal of the old statue, which was to be replaced with a new one, was part of that.”
{{/usCountry}}Sitting MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rupesh Gowala disapproved the claims and told HT, “This is a politically motivated controversy. The old statue was in a dilapidated state with its nose broken, the walking stick replaced by a bamboo stick and the spectacles missing. The area where the statue was placed was also not in good shape. That’s why the local municipal body decided to carry out a beautification project and the removal of the old statue, which was to be replaced with a new one, was part of that.”
{{/usCountry}}Gowala said that since the old statue was made of marble, repairing it was not feasible. He said the new statue would be taller (6.5 feet) and placed in the same place along with a clock tower. He further stated that locals were consulted and informed about the move through a public meeting and the foundation stone for the project was laid in March this year.
“The new statue, which will also be of marble. It is being sculpted in Rajasthan now and as soon as it’s completed and brought to Doomdooma, it will be installed in the same area with due respect and honour,” Gowala said.
However, Tushar Gandhi, author and great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, criticised the development, and said on X, “Not surprising that the BJP government in Assam decided to replace Bapu’s statue with a clock tower... Their slavish colonial hangover persists.”