BJP hits out at Congress as Shaktiman’s statue removed

Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 12

A war of words has erupted between the BJP and the Congress over the statue of Shaktiman, the police horse that was at the centre of a political storm in the state in March.

It is believed that the statue of Shaktiman was removed from the Rispana bridge on the advice of famous astrologer Bejan Daruwala, whom Chief Minister Harish Rawat met in Dehradun yesterday.

Further, Harish Rawat also desisted from unveiling another statue of Shaktiman at the Police Lines on Daruwala’s advice. He was to unveil the statue soon after the parade yesterday.

This u-turn by the Chief Minister, who did not let go any opportunity to extract political mileage, is being used by the BJP. “We know, behind the façade of the progressive Chief Minister lies a personality of a weak man who is highly superstitious. We have seen Harish Rawat going after babas, seeking tavijs and blessings for the past few months. I think Harish Rawat was forced to remove the statue on the advice of an astrologer,” said Uttarakhand BJP spokesperson Munna Singh Chauhan.

After the horse was injured during a BJP rally in which BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi was seen flashing a stick at the animal, the Congress-led state government had gone after the BJP.

Later, the state government installed a statue in Shaktiman’s memory at the Rispana bridge and also named the intersection as Shaktiman chowk. Besides, the government has already named a park and a stable located at the Police Lines, where the horse had undergone treatment and was laid to rest.

Besides the astrologer’s advice to the Chief Minister, the move to give preference to the horse and earmark several places in its memory also gained traction in the social media, inviting a lot of criticism. “There are several people who laid down their lives for the the country, in the wars and in the statehood agitation, but why the Chief Minister is giving preference to a horse?” asked Ravinder Jugran, a statehood activist.

Meanwhile, beleaguered Harish Rawat and the Congress are now maintaining that they do not want to do politics on the horse.