Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Tuesday claimed that the statues of Mahatma Gandhi are missing from Mubarak Mandi heritage complex and Satwari chowk here and asserted that his party would raise the issue with the government soon.
Addressing a function organised by the party to pay tributes to India’s first prime minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, on his 61st death anniversary here, Karra demanded proper upkeep of all statues of great national leaders.
He also urged the government to install a statue of Nehru at an appropriate place in Jammu so that the future generations draw inspiration from his life and contribution.
“The statue of Mahatma Gandhi is missing from Mubarak Mandi complex and also from Satwari Chowk besides there is lack of proper care and upkeep of the statue of former prime minister Indira Gandhi installed at Indira Chowk. Necessary steps should be taken immediately to give due respect to the statue of these great leaders,” he said.
The Congress leader said he would be writing to the government soon to express concern of the party and press for immediate attention.
Describing Nehru as the architect of modern India, great freedom fighter and stalwart of international repute, Karra paid floral tributes to him and said while the entire world is impressed by his philosophy but unfortunately there are some forces in the country that are scared of his ideology and use every occasion to erode his contribution, achievements and sacrifices for the nation.
“Gandhi, Nehru and Congress opposed and resisted the division of the country but those opportunist forces having radical ideology led to the division of the country (in 1947)… the very foundations of the country are under threat today because of the policies of the present regime,” he said.
He asked the party workers to carry forward the legacy and the true history of the freedom movement and post-independence contributions of the leaders like Nehru and all stalwarts of the time for the future generations.
The downgrading of J&K into a Union territory in August 2019 “is against the spirit of the constitution”, he said. He reiterated his party’s demand for the early restoration of statehood to J&K.