The first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was claimed to have been vandalized and dragged down by unknown individuals at Pailapool, in Cachar district of Assam, leading to a political row and strong reaction of the Congress party.
Congress leader Pradeep Kumar Dey said that on Tuesday morning walkers saw the broken statue and they immediately informed the police. Although the first statements caused some speculations that the statue could have fallen on its own, CCTV footage allegedly recorded a group of people operating an excavator to intentionally destroy it. The statue was erected in 2000 in front of Nehru College, which was founded in 1965, and it had long been the mark of the respect of the region towards the former Prime Minister. Dey mentioned that notable leaders such as late Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev and ex-Assam minister Dinesh Prasad Goala had been present in its installation ceremony. He further drew attention to the fact that in the year 1953 a high school bearing the name of Nehru was established in the region.
Congress party has filed FIR against the incident. Local police officer Shankar Dayal conceded that the case was registered, the excavator was taken into custody and digital evidence is being investigated to find out the culprits.
The then chief of the Congress district Abhijit Paul called the act shameful and wondered why the ruling BJP remained silent. He made comparisons with other incidences of political vandalism in other places and invited more condemnation. Local MLA Kaushik Rai, who is also a BJP leader, has not led by example regarding the incident.
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