KARUR: Furore broke out in Karur on Friday as Congress cadre staged protest over the authorities removing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi near the Lighthouse Corner roundabout and beginning some kind of construction work around the spot.
The statue was erected in 1954 and inaugurated by freedom fighters Andiya Chetty, Venkateshan Pillai, Nana Sakib and Vangal Marutha Pillai. Sources said the statue was taken down by the officials on Thursday night without any prior notice or announcement.
When rumours started doing rounds that it would be replaced by Jayalalithaa’s statue, Congress cadre jumped into a protest on Friday. Police personnel were deployed at the spot to prevent untoward incidents. ADSP Silambarasan and municipality officials held talks with Congress functionaries.
One of the party cadre said, “We inquired about this with both the municipality and the Highways Department officials, but did not receive a proper response. No tender was issued, no formal announcement was made by the district administration and no one knows who is carrying out the construction work.
As it is the statue of the father of the nation, officials should have conducted a meeting with representatives of all political parties and then decided on whatever repair work they are planning to carry out.” The cadre withdrew their protest after the officials gave them an assurance of re-installing the statue, saying they were only carrying out beautification work.