12-feet-long statue of Vladimir Lenin unveiled by CPI-M in Tamil Nadu

The Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) on Tuesday installed a 12-feet-tall statue of Russian revolutionary politician Vladimir Lenin in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. The statue was unveiled by CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

According to news agency ANI, the construction of the statue incurred a cost of Rs four lakh, which was contributed by workers of the Left party.

The grand statue of Lenin has been unveiled less than a year after a major political controversy over another statue of the Russian leader was bulldozed in Tripura in March 2018. At least two statues of Lenin were demolished in Tripura shortly after the CPI-M government was toppled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state Assembly elections.

Tirunelveli: 12-foot-tall statue of Vladimir Lenin was unveiled in front of the CPI(M) headquarters by CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury earlier today. Statue was built at a cost of Rs 4 lakh contributed by party workers. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/LugpkdQCVa — ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2019

The status was taken down a day after Manik Sarkar resigned as the Chief Minister of Tripura after CPI-M’s poll debacle. Following the incident, several statues of political icons were de-faced or damaged in different parts of the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also intervened and talked to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. He had also state governments to ensure such incidents were not repeated.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a statement in this regard taking cognisance of the incidents. The statement read, "Incidents of toppling of statues have been reported from certain parts of the country. MHA has taken serious notes of such incidents of vandalism. PM also spoke to Home Minister in this regard and has expressed his strong disapproval of such incidents."

The MHA has also asked the states to take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents. "Persons indulging in such acts must be sternly dealt with and booked under relevant provisions of law," the MHA said.