Congress stages protest in K’shahar over vandalism of Rajiv Gandhi's Bust

Agartala, Jun 10, 2024, By Our Correspondent

The vandalism of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s bust in Kailashahar prompted the Unakoti District Congress Committee to organize a protest on Monday, during which they gheraoed the local police station. The demonstration was led by Congress MLA Birajit Sinha and included prominent party members such as district Congress president Md. Badruzzaman, Pradesh Congress general secretary Rudrendu Bhattacharya, and other leaders including Runu Miah, Nar Singh Das, Chandra Shekhar Sinha, and Ratan Dutta.

The protest commenced with a march from the local Congress office, traversing various streets of Kailashahar, and culminated in a demonstration in front of the Kailashahar police station. During the hour-long protest, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the police station requested a meeting with a five-member delegation from the Congress, led by Md. Badruzzaman.

The police assured the Congress leaders that they would make every effort to apprehend those responsible for the vandalism. However, the Congress warned that if the culprits are not arrested soon, they would escalate their protests across Kailashahar.

Addressing the media post-protest, Sinha strongly condemned the series of vandalism incidents, including the defacement of the CPI(M) Chandipur local committee office in Srirampur on June 4, the bust of poet Himadri Nandan Deb in Kazirgaon on June 5, and Rajiv Gandhi's bust in Gobindapur on June 8. He accused local ruling party leaders of involvement, describing them as "cowards" for their actions.

Sinha warned that if the true perpetrators are not arrested promptly, peace in Kailashahar would be at risk, and the police would be held accountable. He also recalled a similar incident where the statue of the late Deputy Chief Minister Baidyanath Majumder was vandalized in Srirampur after the BJP assumed power in 2018, again condemning such acts carried out under the cover of night.