Defacement of Vivekananda statue: JNU administration files complaint with police

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration on Saturday filed a police complaint over the "defacement" of a yet-to-be-unveiled statue of Swami Vivekananda.

The complaint was filed by JNU professor Buddha Singh, who is the chairman of the Swami Vivekananda Statue Installation Committee.

"The present complaint is being filed against the acts of vandalism and defacement of Swami Vivekananda's statue committed in the dawn of November 14," he said in the complaint.

The statue at the administration block of the varsity was installed on January 5 this year "to pay homage to Swami Vivekananda and his ideologies", Singh said in the complaint.

Singh said he received information that the statue had been "vandalised" by some students in the morning of November 14.

"I, along with other officials, reached the location to see that the base of the statue has been vandalised with objectionable messages and the cloth with which the statue is covered has been partially torn off," he said in his complaint.

These messages are particularly directed towards a political party and a group of people donning saffron coloured clothes, he said.

"The said messages are also obscene in nature.... It is evident that attempts were also made to tamper with the statue as the cloth with which the statue is covered is also torn off," he said.

Calling the "vandalism of Swami Vivekananda's statue as a shameful and despicable act that has been committed by some miscreants in furtherance of their political agendas", he said the statue stands as a symbol of peace and harmony and "has been vandalised by persons filled with hatred and disrespect".

"Swami Vivekananda stands as a role model for the youth of India and has inspired millions of minds. Swami Vivekananda has represented soul of Indian identity for last 100 years. The act of vandalism is not just an attack on Swami's ideologies but also on an aspect of Indian identity," he said.

When contacted, Singh said he has been involved in the process of installation of the statue for close to a year and it is "saddening" to see some students "vandalised" the statue.

"There is a larger conspiracy behind this act. Some people want to disrupt law and order in the entire country and planned this vandalism," he alleged.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha on the directions of its national president Poonam Mahajan also lodged a police complaint against the miscreants "who vandalised the statue of Swami Vivekananda" on the JNU campus.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University administration had filed a separate complaint with police in connection with the "vandalism" of administration block of the varsity on Thursday night.

No FIR has been registered in the matter till now.

Objectionable messages attacking right-wing outfits were written at the base of the statue outside the administration block.

The students have been occupying the administration block, also referred to as Pink Palace and have also painted messages on the walls of the administration block and near the entrance of the VC's office.