Times of India: Lucknow: Monday,
March 24, 2014.
A job lying
pending since 2001 was completed, appropriately on the occasion of Martyrs Day,
March 23, when members of Swarajya Party of India and other organisations
installed a 65-kg bust of Bhagat Singh at Shaheed Smarak on Sunday. The bust
was placed on a pillar for which state government had released funds way back
in 2001. Out of the Rs 9.14 lakh allocated for the pillar with busts of
revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, but a board near the pillar
still reads "under-construction".
Anupam
Mishra, president of SPI, said "for the last one decade, successive state
governments ignored the task of memorial site's construction, so we took it up
on ourselves to complete it." Asked whether the act of the SPI does not
tantamount to breach of law, he said "defacing or damaging a statue is a
crime, but under which sections of the law, will you define installing a statue
a crime."
RTI documents
state, "On July 10, 2005, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav
during a tour of Lucknow announced the installation of a statue of
revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh."
Sunday March
23, 2014 would certainly be an important day in the annals of city's history as
a group of self-motivated youngsters installed the bust of revolutionary Bhagat
Singh at Shaheed Smarak much to the delight and surprise of visitors and
onlookers, who took sometime to actually understand the sequence of events.
According to
eyewitnesses at Shaheed Smarak, at around 12.00 noon volunteers from Swarajya
Party of India and other organisations chanting Vande Mataram entered the
memorial site carrying the 65-kg bust of Bhagat Singh, and after temporary
bottlenecks installed the bust of the revolutionary. Interestingly the
installation of bust has been done on the pillar, for which the UP government
had released funds in 2001.
The board
located in the vicinity of the pillar meant for memorial site of Bhagat Singh,
Sukhdev and Rajguru, still reads that it is "under-construction". The
construction works for this was assigned to the Public Works Department, and
the work was scheduled to be completed by 2001. However, despite passage of
more than a decade or so, the pillar remained devoid of any statue or bust, and
was rather reduced to a graffiti site for lovers to express their love.
What's more
intriguing is the fact that Rs 5.14 lakh out of Rs 9.14 lakh was made available
for the purpose, but no tangible development took place. As a result, the work,
which should have been over in November 2001, is still lying unfinished.
Reacting to
the day's development, Anupam Mishra, president of SPI, said, "For the
last one decade, successive state government ignored this task (construction of
memorial site). As a result, we were compelled to give the final touch to the
approved plan of the state government, which was hanging for the last many
years." He further added that a nation which does not honour its heroes,
is eventually deprived of their presence on its soil.
When asked
whether the act of the SPI does not amount to breach of law and order, Mishra
said that his party never did anything, which is illegal. "If giving due
regards to a freedom fighter is considered to be a sin, then I'm a cardinal
sinner. Defacing or damaging a statue is a crime, but under which sections of
the law, will you define installing a statue a crime," he said. The party
also claimed that they had taken prior permission to hold a 'Shradhaanjali Sabha'
(condolence meet), and the act of installing the statue was a spontaneous
reaction of the party workers.
In 2005, the
then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered installation of a full-size
statue of Bhagat Singh. RTI documents state, "On July 10, 2005, the then
chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav during a tour of Lucknow announced the
installation of a statue of revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh."
The RTI documents further reveal that in pursuance with the orders of the chief
minister, the department of Home on July 21, 2005 sought the required
information from the district administration of Lucknow, and a reminder in this
regard was sent on February 1, 2006." However, till date nothing
substantial is visible.
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