Busts of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru to find place in Assembly

“I have sought the consent of the speaker (Goel) and all MLAs seem to be in agreement over contributing towards erecting the busts of martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on the Assembly premises,” Sisodia said.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who also attended the programme, said, “I would request Manish Sisodia, who is the education minister, that students learn more and more about Bhagat Singh so that they are inspired by him.”

Sisodia told Newsline, “Schools do teach about martyrs like Bhagat Singh but it is all about rote-learning. Children are just taught to remember their birth anniversary and the date of their hanging. Until they realise the relevance of what Bhagat Singh believed in and are educated about their thoughts and ideas, children will not have learnt enough about Bhagat Singh. We will make a policy about what changes we can bring about in the school syllabi.”

Although BJP’s legislature party leader Vijender Gupta welcomed the idea, he said the move “smells of politics”.

“It is a welcome idea but politics should be kept out of it. It could have been done earlier too. This is not a question of political debate, but a tribute to the martyrs. By erecting their busts, we are just playing our part,” Gupta said.

Gopal Rai said each year on Republic Day and Independence Day, people pay their respects at India Gate but do not do the same for these martyrs. “This could have been done much earlier. It is not that these heroes were forgotten. There has certainly been an approach of ignorance towards them,” Rai said.

Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti, who organised the programme, said, “These heroes of the freedom struggle were deliberately not popularised from the beginning. Since there is no Congress in Delhi now, we should not be bound by its mindset.”

Reacting to this, the Congress party stated, “AAP should refrain from politicising the martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle.”

The Vidhan Sabha premises has four statues — Mahatma Gandhi, Chaudhary Brahm Prakash, Vithalbhai Patel, Dr B R Ambedkar — and a bust of Madan Mohan Malviya. Sources said the proposed busts of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru will be installed in the Central park where Monday’s programme was held.