Letter to the Prime Minister regarding removal of statues of Ambedkar, Gandhiji and Shivaji from the Parliament Premises | Binoy Viswam

Binoy Viswam
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)
116, North Avenue New Delhi - 110 001

Date: 6th June, 2024

To,

Respected Shri Narendra Modi ji,

Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, Government of India

I write this letter to you to protest another arbitrary and unilateral move made by your government concerning the infrastructure of the Parliament House building. It is being reported that the iconic statues of Gandhiji, Dr. Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Parliament House premise have been removed, with no clarity on there relocation. These statues are not mere metal, brick-and-mortar but embodiment of our nation’s struggle for liberation, equality and indomitable spirit of our people in reshaping our destiny after snatching freedom from colonial clutches.

The old Parliament Building, now called Samvidhan Sadan, was a living testament to seminal moments in our history like getting independence, adopting the Constitution, providing affirmative action, abolishing privy-purses, nationalisation of banks, establishing Panchayati Raj etc. Your government turned that building into a museum by shifting Parliament to a new building. Now your assault on our collective legacy has taken the form of tempering with iconic statues of national icons in the Parliament House premise. Each of the 50-odd statues in the Parliament House premise is there for a reason. They were installed in the Parliament House as our recognition of individuals in shaping our nation’s life. Most of the individuals honoured in this way, including communists like SA Dange, Bhupesh Gupta, AK Gopalan and Indrajit Gupta, were staunchly opposed to the ideology of the RSS and it can be one reason for a government controlled by the RSS-ideology in trying to wash away their legacy.

It must be pointed out that the decade-long disregard of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar’s life and work by your Party and parental organisation has just resulted in your party being rejected by the people of India. Many attempts have been made by the Right-wing in India to rewrite our history and shift national icons in the backyard but such attempts will never succeed as our icons continue to live in the hearts and minds of the people. In this context, I urge you not to temper with our inclusive history any further and reserve places of prominence for national icons like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Yours Sincerely,

(Binoy Viswam)
Leader of CPI Parliamentary Group & Secretary, National Council

Member, CommiMee on Public Undertakings
Member, Standing CommiMee on Labour, TexTles and Skill Development
Member, ConsultaTve CommiMee on Environment, Forest and Climate Change