Other States - Uttar Pradesh   

Trouble brews over bust

Photo: Subir Roy

ON THE STREET: Congressmen protesting against displacement of Rajiv Gandhi’s bust from the centre of a roundabout in Lucknow on Friday.

LUCKNOW: Displacement of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s bust from its original perch in the middle of a roundabout, a stone’s throw away from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s official residence on Kalidas Marg here, has become a bone of contention between the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party regime.

The park is presently being expanded and beautified by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation with a fountain installed at the centre. The expansion has resulted in the former Prime Minister’s bust being sidelined to the edge of the park.

On Friday, agitated Congressmen staged a protest at the roundabout and warned the municipal authorities that if the bust is not reverted to its original position the party would decide its next course of action after the new Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna-Joshi arrives in Lucknow on October 3. Municipal Commissioner Shailendra Kumar Singh rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the Congressmen, who insisted that the bust should now be installed atop the fountain with a pathway leading to it. Since the Chief Minister is in Delhi and expected to return only on Saturday, Mr. Singh said the matter would be taken up then.

UPCC vice-president Satyadev Tripathi, who led the party delegation, described the displacement of the bust as a criminal act. “The Mayawati Government should spare a thought for Rajiv Gandhi, who was conferred Bharat Ratna for his contribution to the country and who worked towards bridging the gap among different castes and communities,” said Mr. Tripathi.

A Congress delegation had met State Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Misra on Thursday and apprised him of the move to displace Mr. Gandhi’s bust. They demanded that the bust occupy a central place in the renovated park and roundabout.

The crossing, named Rajiv Chowk, is located strategically with one road leading to Kalidas Marg, the other to La Martiniere College, the third to Loreto Convent and the fourth to Gomti Nagar. The beautification of the crossing had also been taken up under the previous regime when Chief Minister Mulayam Singh’s pet project of Lohia Path (the road leading to Gomti Nagar and Faizabad Road) was being built. At that time too there was a move to displace Mr. Gandhi’s bust. The move was dropped following a representation made to Anil Kumar, Principal Secretary to the then Chief Minister, by the UPCC spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh. Mr. Gandhi’s bust atop a pedestal was inaugurated on August 20, 1995, by the then Petroleum Minister Satish Sharma, ironically a couple of months after Ms. Mayawati became the Chief Minister for the first time on June 3, 1995.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Trouble brews over bust

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu