Cong, BJP at loggerheads over Arjun Singh’s statue
Both, ruling Congress and Opposition BJP are engaged in yet another controversy over installation of statue of late Chief Minister Arjun Singh at a busy trisection.
The bust of legendary freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad, present there was shifting on the roadside around three years ago, when a special drive was launched in the city to shift the busts and statues from the squares and tri-sections.
A couple of weeks ago, the statue of the former Chief Minister has been installed at the tri-section and is awaiting inauguration, while the BJP is up in arms against the State Government calling it ‘disrespect’ to the freedom fighter.
Ever since the statue has been installed at New Market trisection, several BJP leaders have opposed the move.
Bhopal mayor Alok Sharma here on Monday claimed that Mayor in Council in the past had cleared a proposal for installation of late CM Arjun Singh’s statue at Vyapam square but former Congress mayors including Vibha Patel and Sunil Sood never made any efforts to complete the project in their tenures.
“I am told that days ago, some Congress leaders reached New Market trisection, summoned municipal officers and ordered that they should install late Arjun Singh’s statue at the spot which violates the Municipalities Act 1956 as the proposal should have been given to MiC,” claimed Sharma who also called that the place earlier had bust of Azad and replacing it with a statue of a politician was disrespect to freedom fighters.
If required, we would take to streets and would protest on the matter. Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta claimed that BJP leaders were ill-informed.
Surprisingly, the BJP government around three years had shifted the bust of Azad and the BJP leaders then did not find it disrespect to the legendary freedom fighter.
The statue was to be unveiled on Monday but the function was later postponed due to law and order issues post Ayodhya verdict delivered by the Supreme Court of India.
Late union minister Arjun Singh’s son –Ajay Singh had organized a show of strength by convening a programme to mark his father’s birth anniversary.
