Row Over Parliament's Relocated Statues Continues As Prerna Sthal Opens

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge posted his reservations about the relocation of statues of key leaders of the Independence movement as the area of relocation within the parliament complex, Prerna Sthal, was inaugurated today. Pointing out that the dedicated committee for such purposes, which contains MPs from both Houses, has not been reconstituted since 2019, Mr Kharge strongly criticised the decision to relocate the statues.

"Such decisions made without any proper discussion and deliberation with relevant stakeholders are against the rules and traditions of our Parliament," read his post on X, formerly Twitter.

A political row has been simmering for weeks over the decision to shift the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, BS Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji. The statues -- moved first during the building of the new parliament -- have been relocated to a new spot towards the back of the parliament complex, which was named Prerna Sthal.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat had explained the decision in a statement, which read, "Due to their location at different places in the Parliament Complex, visitors were not able to view these statues conveniently. For this reason, all these statues are being respectfully installed in a grand Prerna Sthal in the Parliament House Complex itself."

As the decision was announced earlier this month, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, said, called it "atrocious". Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that the statues of Shivaji and Ambedkar were removed because Maharashtra did not vote for the BJP.. CPI's D Raja also condemned the move, calling it "arbitrary and unilateral".

The situation was emotive for the Opposition, which had held many a protest at the feet of the 16-ft tall bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

After the inauguration of Prerna Sthal today, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the spot is "motivational and inspirational and said whoever spends time here will be inspired".

"People get inspiration from such great men...I think that the Prerna Sthal will always inspire the coming generations," said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

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