NEW DELHI: The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation today termed as "despicable, cowardly and condemnable" the defacing of a statue of the Jan Sangh founder in Kolkata and accused the West Bengal government of showing apathy towards the Hindutva ideologue.
The foundation's director Anirban Ganguly said the state government, first under the Left and now under the TMC, has tried every method and taken recourse to every means to "obliterate" his memory and contribution to the state as well as the country.
The act of vandalising Mookerjee's bust "that stands on the very spot where he was cremated in Kolkata in 1953 is a despicable, cowardly and condemnable act," he said in a statement.
The foundation has ties to the BJP which reveres Mookerjee, the founder president of its forerunner Jan Sangh.
Calling Mookerjee a "valiant son of Bharat Mata", Ganguly said those who indulge in such arson and those who patronise them should know that his life and legacy will shine unhindered and will continue to inspire those who believe in India and wish to strive for a golden era for West Bengal.
"Mookerjee's contribution, his personality and his legacy stand tall like a lighthouse for all patriots who hold India's interest first and foremost.
Vandals and political pygmies, suffering from irrelevance, are incapable of appreciating this," he said.
It was due to his leadership that West Bengal was saved and prevented from being handed over to Pakistan, he said, adding that millions of refugees from East Pakistan looked up to him for leadership.
After statues of Marxist icon Vladimir Lenin and Dravidian movement stalwart E V Ramasamy 'Periyar' were desecrated, vandals targeted Mookerjee's bust in West Bengal.