BJP workers vandalising ex-PMs' statues: UP Congress

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress on Thursday accused BJP supporters of vandalising statues of former Prime Ministers from the Congress across the state.

Congress state unit Spokesman Onkarnath Singh said that Bharatiya Janata Party workers had tried to deface a statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Maidagin square in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but were prevented by Congressmen.

"Frustrated over the expose of their dealings with bank frauds and absconders, the Bharatiya Janata Party is now targeting the statues of late Congress leaders," Singh alleged.

He claimed that district authorities were hand in glove with ruling party workers and tried to conceal the vandalism by BJP cadres by maintaining that the statue was being removed for beautification of the square.

The BJP workers are still pressurising the District Magistrate of Varanasi on the issue but Congressmen will not allow this to happen, the Congress leader said.

Singh said that a statue of late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Mughalsarai in Chandauli district was smeared with cow dung on Wednesday night. "We strongly condemn it and demand that the state government crack down on unscrupulous elements involved in the incident," he added.

--IANS

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