Unidentified people pulled down a 10-foot statue of the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Pailapool in Assam’s Cachar district, drawing condemnation from the Opposition Congress, which questioned the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s silence over the vandalism.
Congress leader Pradeep Kumar Dey said morning walkers noticed the vandalism on Tuesday. “We immediately informed the police about it. Officials initially claimed that the statue fell on its own, but CCTV footage showed that a group vandalising it with the help of an excavator,” he said on Wednesday.
Dey said that the statue was installed in 2000 in front of the Nehru College, which was established in 1965. He added that the late former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev and ex-Assam minister Dinesh Prasad Goala were among those who attended the installation event. “In 1953, a high school was established in the same area in Nehru’s name. We have a great culture of honouring the first Prime Minister here,” he said.
The Congress lodged a first information report over the incident. Shankar Dayal, a local police officer, said a case has been filed and the excavator used for the vandalism has been seized. “We have some digital evidence, and our teams are trying to identify the individuals involved. Once we identify them, the accused will be arrested.”
{{/usCountry}}The Congress lodged a first information report over the incident. Shankar Dayal, a local police officer, said a case has been filed and the excavator used for the vandalism has been seized. “We have some digital evidence, and our teams are trying to identify the individuals involved. Once we identify them, the accused will be arrested.”
{{/usCountry}}Former Congress district chief Abhijit Paul likened the vandalism to the demolition of statues of Bangladesh’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, following the ouster of his daughter, Sheikh Hasina, from power in August 2024. He underlined that Nehru was a freedom fighter who shaped India’s future. “Vandalising his statue is shameful. Some people dislike Nehru for their political beliefs, but vandalising his statue reminds me of how the statues of the father of Bangladesh were vandalised after Hasina’s fall. The idea behind both is the same.”
Paul questioned the BJP’s silence and called for more outrage. “The area comes under BJP lawmaker Kaushik Rai’s constituency. Rai is a minister but has not spoken a word against it,” Paul said.
Rai did not respond to calls, while other BJP leaders refused to speak on the matter.