Vidyasagar statue: AIDSO calls for nationwide protest

The All India Democratic Students' Organisation on Wednesday gave a call for a nation-wide protest against desecration of 19th century Bengal renaissance icon Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in Kolkata, accusing the “RSS-BJP-ABVP goons" of perpetrating the "heinous act."

Condemning the incident, the students outfit, affiliated with the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), noted that the Vidyasagar's statue was vandalised at a time when the nation was preparing to observe his 200th birth anniversary.

Underlining that the Bengali polymath was one of "the greatest personality" and “pioneer” of secular humanist thought in India, the student's body said Tuesday's incident in Kolkata was not only an attack on the statue of Vidyasagar but also an attack on the culture and noble thought of the country.

“So, the AIDSO calls for all India protest day on May 16 to protest against this heinous act of Sangh Parivar and urges upon the democratic-minded people of the country in general and the students, in particular, to make success the programme to uphold the anti-fascist tradition of our country,” the outfit said in a statement.

The students outfit also recalled the demolition of the statue of communist icon Lenin in Tripura last year after the Left front suffered a massive drubbing in the Assembly polls and lost power to the BJP and its allies, saying desecration of Vidyasagar's statue in Kolkata was not an isolated incident.

“The Sangh Parivar indulged in the violence to get electoral benefit on one hand and to destroy the progressive thoughts of the country to create regimented and conditioned minds on the other,” the AIDSO general secretary Ashok Mishra charged.