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Mahatma Gandhi’s statue vandalised in Kerala’s Kannur
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised by unidentified people in Thaliparambha in north Kerala’s Kannur district. In the past few days in s series of attacks statues of Lenin, Periyar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Ambedkar have been damaged by miscreants.
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised by unidentified people in Thaliparambha in north Kerala’s Kannur district, police said on Thursday, latest in the series of attacks on statues of political figures in many parts of the country.
The police said assailants hurled stones and bottles damaging the spectacle and garland on the statue situated in front of the Thaliparambha taluk office. The attack was noticed on Thursday morning.
Senior police and civic officers have rushed to the spot and a case has been registered, officials said.
Vandalism: The present is always informed by the past I Opinion
A senior police officer said they have identified a person from the CCTV cameras installed near the shops and efforts are on to nab him. It was not immediately known if more people were involved in the attack.
All political parties have condemned the attack on Gandhi statue, which was unveiled by former chief minister Oommen Chandy in 2005.
There has been a rash of attacks on statues of political figures in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh after a Communist icon Vladimir Lenin statue in Tripura was toppled on Monday.
Some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members on Tuesday came out in support of the toppling of the Lenin statue but changed track after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he disapproved of such incidents.
The ministry of home affairs sent out an advisory to the states asking them to prevent such incidents, according to a government statement, after Modi spoke with Union home minister Rajnath Singh.
It issued a second advisory later on Wednesday, asking the states to “promptly investigate” all such attacks and “to make district magistrates and senior superintendents of police personally responsible” for law and order in the context of the attacks.
