Shah in Kolkata to Lay 125-ft Syama Prasad Statue’s Foundation Stone on His B’day

Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah will visit the city on a whirlwind tour to attend the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Jana Sangh founder and BJP icon Syama Prasad Mookerjee on Monday. He will land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the afternoon and reach Eco Park in New Town to lay the foundation stone of the 125-metre statue of Mookerjee.

After the event, Mr Shah will go to his home in Bhowanipore to pay tribute to Mookerjee. Later, he will attend another event at EM Bypass at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan on the same occasion. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya pointed out the uniqueness of the party’s day-long celebration on the day the state government recently declared a holiday.

“This is a matter of great pride and joy for every BJP worker. Be it in West Bengal or as far away as Ladakh, everyone associated with the party and its ideology sees this as an important day. For the first time, Syama Prasad’s birth anniversary is being celebrated with fanfare in his home state under a government inspired by his ideals,” he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP added: “The union home minister’s participation will make this a historic event.” Hours before Mr Shah’s visit, a newly erected half-bust statue of Mookerjee, which was scheduled to be inaugurated by the BJP ranks on Monday, was vandalized by a group of people in the northern parts of the city. The incident took place on APC Road near Sukea Street in Manicktala around 1.30 am on Sunday.

The incident came to light in the morning when the cement sign on the tiles was found broken. Besides Mookerjee, a half-bust statue of Bengali meat shop owner Gopal Mukherjee, popularized by the moniker Gopal Pantha as he emerged as the savior of Hindus during the communal riots of 1946 known as the Great Calcutta Killings, has also been installed here.

BJP workers then lodged a complaint with the police, who later arrested Rupesh Hazra (26) from Narkeldanga on charges of vandalism.