30/08/2026
Press Release
The Pradesh Congress strongly condemns the desecration of the statue of the country's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru; Shri demands the immediate reinstallation of the statue and the arrest of the culprits.
Kolkata, August 30, 2026: West Bengal Pradesh Congress President Shri Subhankar Sarkar has expressed strong outrage and condemnation over the incident in Durgapur, where a statue of India's first Prime Minister, freedom fighter, and an architect of modern India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was uprooted and dumped in a forested area.
The statue of Pandit Nehru, located in front of a meditation center adjacent to Harshavardhan Primary School in Durgapur, was lifted with the help of a crane, removed from the site, and dumped into a nearby forest. In protest against this incident, the district Congress leadership has already staged demonstrations and demanded that the administration immediately reinstate the statue to its original place.
Strongly condemning the incident, Pradesh Congress President Shri Subhankar Sarkar said,
"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not merely a Congress leader—he was a freedom fighter, the first Prime Minister of India, and one of the principal architects of modern India. Uprooting his statue and throwing it into a forest is not just the desecration of a statue; it is an utter disrespect to India's freedom struggle, our history, and the democratic heritage of our nation."
He also said,
"It is the administration's responsibility to investigate and find out which political ideology's followers committed this heinous act. We do not want to hear any excuses. Pandit Nehru's statue must be immediately reinstalled in its original place with due dignity. At the same time, every person involved in this incident must be identified, arrested, and subjected to strict punishment according to the law."
Shri Sarkar said, "There may be political differences, but no one has the right to insult the first Prime Minister of the country. Congress will resist with all its might politically and democratically against those who want to erase history, who want to insult the great leaders of the country's freedom struggle."
The Pradesh Congress is demanding from the administration and police:
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's statue must be immediately reinstalled in its original place with due dignity, and the miscreants involved in this disgraceful incident must be swiftly identified and arrested.
Otherwise, the Indian National Congress will be forced to launch a larger democratic movement against this act of desecration.
Media and Publicity Department
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee
Indian National Congress
Rahul Gandhi
