Even as her state was beset by political violence through the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday unveiled a statue of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar at the Vidyasagar College in Kolkata.
At the event, she launched another blistering attack on the BJP and said, "It doesn't end at breaking a statue. Are they trying to disrupt the culture of Bengal? Bengal is not Gujarat." She added, "The rally was taken out by the present union Home Minister Amit Shah. Why did he allow that vandalism? They have destroyed it. We have all the proof. Yet they are lying."
At the event which was attended by a host of politicians, intellectuals and noted artists of the Bengali film industry, Banerjee said, "By vandalising the bust of Vidyasagar, his work Barna Parichay can't be destroyed. By criticising Raja Ram Mohan Roy, they can't destroy the culture of Bengal. Bengal is not a toy. You cannot play with it. You cannot do anything you want with Bengal. It is an attack on our history, but they will never succeed."
Banerjee first offered a floral tribute to the Vidyasagar bust at the Hare School ground and later walked up to the Vidyasagar College on foot as a vehicle then carried the bust to the college. There, she placed the bust at the same place where it was when vandalised by miscreants on May 14; she later unveiled the full-size statue of him inside the college premises.
The CM also announced four more bronze statues — that of Rabindranath Tagore, Vidyasagar, Ashutosh Mookerjee and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
—Zee Media Newsroom
