Another Lenin statue razed by mob in Tripura after Left’s poll debacle

Amid the war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Left Front-led opposition parties, there are reports of another statue of Vladimir Lenin being razed to the ground by a mob in Tripura. The statue was demolished at Sabroom Motor Stand in Agartala by unidentified individuals.

This came a day after a statue of the Communist icon was demolished by a bulldozer at Belonia College Square in a Tripura town. The Left Front, which was ousted by the BJP-IPFT in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Tripura, had hit out at the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the razing of the statue and incidents of violence in Tripura.

#WATCH: Statue of Vladimir Lenin brought down at Belonia College Square in Tripura. pic.twitter.com/fwwSLSfza3 — ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2018

Veteran CPI leader D Raja had said that the party condemned the violence, adding that “it is not acceptable in a democracy”.

“We are a multi-party democracy, some parties win and some lose, does not mean they can resort to vandalism and violence like demolition of Lenin statue will take place. Law needs to take its course,” he had said.

Also joining the attack was CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, who blamed the BJP and the RSS for incidents of violence, adding that people of Tripura would give and answer to them. “Violence in Tripura shows the inclination of RSS and BJP. There is no political future for them other than violence. People of Tripura will give an answer to them,” he said.

“Violence in Tripura shows the inclination of RSS and BJP. There is no political future for them other than violence. People of Tripura will give an answer to them,” he said.

The Janata Dal United, which is an ally of the BJP in Bihar, also criticised the demolition of the statue, saying India is not Russia and all ideologies are supported here.

JDU MP Harivansh said, "This is wrong. People of this nation believe in different ideologies. It is true that Lenin's statues were demolished after end of ruling in Russia. But India is not Russia, all ideologies should be supported here. Lenin brought huge revolution in 1917 for poor."

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry also took cognisance of incidents of violence in Tripura. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the state Governor Tathagata Roy and DGP AK Shukla, asking them to ensure peace till the installation of a new government.

During the telephonic calls, Governor Tathagata Roy and DGP A K Shukla apprised the Union home minister about the prevailing situation in Tripura and steps taken to control the violence, which erupted following the BJP-IPFT alliances victory over the CPI-M, ousting the Manik Sarkar led government in the just concluded Assembly elections.

Singh asked the governor and the DGP to check all kinds of violence and ensure peace till a new government is installed in Tripura, the home ministry official said. There have been reports of sporadic violence and clashes between rival political groups in different parts of Tripura after the election results were declared on Saturday.