Agitated over desecration of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's statue in Mirzapur, members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) held protest rallies across the state, stopped trains at several places and burnt Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in effigy.
The government has ordered a probe into the incident and assured that the culprits will be brought to book soon. "We will hold a thorough probe and book those behind desecration of the statue," announced Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.
UPCC President Raj Babbar, who rushed to Mirzapur on Monday along with Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari, demanded arrest of the culprits within 24 hours and warned the BJP government to intensify their agitation.
"It was not only beheading of a statue of Rajivji but an attempt to kill the secular, progressive and inclusive ideas for which the former PM had laid his life," stated Raj Babbar.
The statue, installed in a park at Awas Vikas Colony in Mirzapur, was desecrated by some unidentified persons on Saturday, a few hours after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath left the district. The head of the statue was later recovered from a drain.
The Mirzapur Superitendent of Police (SP) said that an FIR has been registered against some unidentified persons and that they will soon be arrested.
Agitated Congress members stopped the train at Badshahnagar Railway station in Lucknow and burnt the CM in effigy. They also tried to march towards the Raj Bhawan, but were chased away by the police.
UPP leaders are using the incident as an opportunity to galvanise party ranks and files and grill the Adityanath government on its failure to control law and order in the state.
