BJP has been in the news in Tripura for all the wrong reasons lately, including statue vandalism. BJP’s supporters recently brought down a statue of Lenin in Tripura creating much uproar. But they didn’t stop there, they also went on to deface a statue of Periyar too.
Party president Amit Shah was quick to react. He sent out a tweet assuring that both the Tamil Nadu and Tripura units of the party have been told to take strict action against those involved in the vandalism. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a second advisory to the states that saw vandalism. BJP’s national secretary H. Raja was pulled up as the post regarding the vandalism appeared on his Facebook feed. H. Raja claims that he wasn’t responsible for the post and someone with access to his account posted it.
I have spoken to the party units in both Tamil Nadu and Tripura. Any person associated with the BJP found to be involved with destroying any statue will face severe action from the party.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 7, 2018
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attacks and appealed for ‘stern action’ against the perpetrators. The cases of vandalism don’t bode well for BJP which is still in its nascent stage of governance in Tripura. The second advisory also told the DMs and SSPs to ensure that law and order are maintained. The demolition of Lenin’s statue triggered a chain reaction. Vandalism of Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s statue in Kolkata, BR Ambedkar’s statue in Meerut and EV Ramaswamy’s statue in Tamil Nadu. The vandalism also came up in the Budget session where the opposition didn’t let it go. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be put on trial soon. The root of the matter is that something very wrong is happening and it’s not coming to an end.