'No consultation': Kharge slams relocation of Mahatma, Dr Ambedkar statues in Parliament complex

New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday slammed the government for "arbitrarily" removing the statues of many great leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, from their prominent places in the Parliament House Complex and their relocation "to a separate corner". 

He termed the action, taken without any consultation, as violative of the "basic spirit of our democracy".

"The statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar were situated in prominent locations and of other major leaders at appropriate locations after due deliberation and consideration. Each statue and its location across the Parliament House complex holds immense value and significance."

"The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a meditative posture located right in front of old Parliament Building held immense significance for India’s democratic polity. Members paid their respects at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi imbibing within themselves the spirit of Mahatma. It is at this place that Members often conducted peaceful and democratic protests, drawing strength from their presence," he said in a statement.

"The statue of D. Babasaheb Ambedkar too had been placed at a vantage point conveying the powerful message that Babasaheb is extolling the generations of parliamentarians to steadfastly hold on to values and principles enshrined in the Constitution of India. Incidentally, during my student days in mid-60s, I was in the forefront demanding for installation of statue of Babasaheb in the precincts of the Parliament House," Kharge noted.

"Such concerted efforts eventually resulted in installing of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's statue at the place where it was hitherto before placed. The prior placement of Babasaheb statue also facilitated seamless movement of people paying their tributes to him on his birth and death anniversaries," the Congress chief said, adding that "all this has now been brought to a naught in arbitrary and unilateral manner".

He noted that there is a dedicated Committee called the "Committee on the Installation of Portraits and Statues of National Leaders and Parliamentarians in the Parliament House Complex," which includes MPs from both Houses, but this had not been reconstituted since 2019.

"Such decisions made without any proper discussion and deliberation with relevant stakeholders are against the rules and traditions of our Parliament," he said.

The Congress President's reaction came as Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, inaugurated the newly constructed Prerna Sthal at the Parliament House Complex, where all the statues of eminent Indian leaders and freedom fighters, previously dispersed across different places in the Parliament House complex, have been brought at one place.