'Unilateral move': Opposition slams govt on Prerna Sthal inauguration

Leaders of major Opposition parties on Sunday disassociated themselves from the Vice-President inaugurating the 'Prerna Sthal', where all the statues of the founding leaders of India would henceforth be displayed in the new Parliament building, and alleged that it was designed "not to have" the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar "right next to where the Parliament actually meets".

Major Opposition leaders skipped the event.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed the government for "arbitrarily" removing the statues, terming the action, taken without any consultation, as violative of the "basic spirit of our democracy".

"Today (Sunday), a major reconfiguration of statues in the Parliament complex is being inaugurated. Clearly, it is a decision taken by the ruling regime unilaterally. Its sole objective is not to have statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar -- traditional sites of peaceful, legitimate and democratic protests -- right next to where the Parliament actually meets. The Mahatma Gandhi statue has thus been displaced not just once but actually twice," said Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh.

He also pointed out that Parliament's Committee on Portraits and Statues held its last meeting on December 18, 2018.

Ramesh alleged that "in addition, the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations will not have the same scale and significance, given that his statue no longer occupies a distinctive place".