May 18, 2019
Destruction of Vidyasagar’s statue a national shame, State to rebuild it
State Education Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee earlier today addressed a press conference on the vandalising of the statue of the famous social reformer and educationist, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and of the Vidyasagar College premises on College Street by BJP goons during the party’s roadshow on May 14, condemning the incidents in the strongest terms, and the Bangla Government’s decision to rebuild the statue.
The minister began by announcing the decision of building a new statue of the great Indian reformer under the supervision of the Education Department.
He then announced a series of decisions regarding celebrating the life and legacy of Vidyasagar: the construction of a museum containing artefacts related to Vidyasagar, turning Vidyasagar College into a heritage institution and the organising of a week-long series of programmes from September 20 to 26 (the latter date being his birth anniversary) to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth.
Turning his attention to the vandalism that had drawn widespread condemnation from all quarters, Partha Chatterjee said that it is impossible for the perpetrators to hide their affiliation as they were clearly seen to be wearing saffron-coloured dresses. He described the smashing of the statue as a “national shame” and expressed the hope that people never pardon the barbarians who did the misdeeds.
