GUWAHATI: In the tea town of Doomdooma, Assam, the removal of a 5.5-foot statue of Mahatma Gandhi has ignited a significant controversy, with student leaders and local residents protesting the sudden action.
The statue, which was located at Gandhi Chowk in Tinsukia district, was taken down by an excavator two days ago, leading to widespread backlash.
At the forefront of the protests is the All Assam Student Union (AASU), which has accused the authorities of removing the statue to construct a clock tower without consulting the local community.
AASU leader, Pritam Neog, told a national news broadcaster that when they met the municipal board and the town committee, they were told that the removal was a part of a plan to build a clock tower.
“But our question is why the civil society here was not taken into confidence before taking the decision to uproot the Gandhi statue?” said AASU leader
Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, also criticized the move. Taking to a social media website, Gandhi posted a newspaper clipping of the news and wrote, “Not surprising that the BJP Government in Assam decided to replace Bapu’s statue with a clock tower in Dibrugarh. There slavish colonial hangover persists.”
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while responding to the situation, has stated that he was unaware of the decision made by the district administration.
“I am not aware of this decision taken by the district administration. Let me verify the facts. Assam owes so much to Mahatma Gandhi. He stood firmly with Bharat Ratna Gopinath Bordoloi when the Congress party led by Nehru wanted to include Assam in Pakistan under the Grouping Plan,” said Sarma.
In response to the growing concerns, BJP MLA from Doomdooma, Rupesh Gowala, assured that a new statue of Gandhi is being created and will be placed at the original site within six months.
The new statue will be a foot taller and positioned next to a clock tower.
“Is it good for Doomdooma town to have an old broken statue of Gandhi ji? We removed it to replace it with a taller and better statue and also to beautify the area around it but some people are trying to create a controversy and do politics over it,” Gowala was quoted as saying by the press.
As the situation unfolds, the local community continues to voice their concerns, calling for transparency and respect for the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi.
