Politics of statues in Tamil Nadu ahead of Assembly polls
The covering up of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the temple town of Madurai as part of the Election Commission’s model code of conduct has not only sparked off a row, but also opened a fresh can of concerns for poll-bound Tamil Nadu. This is because the state has many statues of Periyar, Muthuramalinga Thevar, Ambedkar, Annadurai and late chief ministers MGR, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, all of them representing the ideology and ethos of various political parties. A few days ago, the poll officials had also covered the statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, claiming he was a Forward Bloc icon in the South, but that was removed later.
Where one can draw the line between state icons and political influencers is something that needs to be thought through before taking a decision as it will involve huge expenses and become a logistical nightmare. In fact, in 2011, the Madras High Court had ruled against covering up the statue of Periyar, saying only those of political leaders who are alive need to be wrapped up. However, the court observed that the model code of conduct did not have any clear instructions on wrapping up statues. It may be recalled that in 2012, the Election Commission had ordered the covering up of all statues of BSP leader Mayawati and her elephants, the party’s symbol, in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls (There are 64 in Lucknow and 24 in Noida). In March last year, the Andhra Pradesh SEC, N Ramesh Kumar, also said it was not necessary to drape the statues of late leaders in cloth and plastic sheets. He quoted the Election Commission’s guidelines, saying the enforcement relates to statues of living leaders of parties.
Since the execution of the code of conduct comes under the purview of individual returning officers, they may have to understand that most political parties in Tamil Nadu have been aligning with Gandhi, Ambedkar, Periyar and Anna and that these leaders have a pan-state appeal. It is time the ambiguity in orders pertaining to election ethics is removed and a uniform code of conduct is followed.