For years, a common sight in Parliament complex was that of MPs protesting or gathering in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the main entrance to the building. It won't be the same when the 18th Lok Sabha convenes for the first time on June 24. The statue has been relocated along with 14 other statues that dotted the complex and installed in one area, named Prerna Sthal (inspiration point), which was inaugurated by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar Sunday. While Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said the decision was taken by the Lok Sabha as the government has “no interference” in its running, the Opposition hit out at the ruling-BJP for moving the statues from their prominent locations near the main entrance to Parliament House. The statues have now been installed on the stretch near the old Parliament building, renamed Samvidhan Sadan last year, till the back of the Library Building. The statue of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr B R Ambedkar have been installed near Gate No 7 of Samvidhan Sadan, facing the old building. Over the years, both Opposition and ruling party MPs held dharnas, addressed the media and met in front of the Gandhi statue facing Parliament House. While the construction of the new Parliament building was on, the Gandhi statue was relocated to a green patch outside the new building in 2021. Congress communications in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X: “Today, a major reconfiguration of statues in the Parliament complex is being inaugurated. Clearly it is a decision taken by the ruling regime unilaterally. Its sole objective is NOT to have statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar - traditional sites of peaceful, legitimate and democratic protests - right next to where Parliament actually meets. The Mahatma Gandhi statue has thus been displaced not just once but actually twice.” In a statement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the statues of the great leaders had been removed from prominent places in an “arbitrary and unilateral manner”. “Removing these statues arbitrarily, without any consultation, violates the basic spirit of our democracy. The statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar were situated in prominent locations and of other major leaders at appropriate locations after due deliberation and consideration. Each statue and its location across the Parliament House complex holds immense value and significance,” he said. After the inauguration, Dhankhar said in a statement that the Prerna Sthal was “motivational and inspirational” for visitors. He recalled the changes in the Parliament complex since the time he first became an MP in 1989. After the inauguration of the new building in May last year, the landscaping work has been ongoing. Birla said it was decided to install all the 15 statues, including those of Gandhi and Ambedkar, at one spot where visitors can learn about the lives of the great leaders. He said the statues were meant to inspire the next generations and their new location would enable visitors to access them easily. The maintenance would also be better, he said. Sources said the entrance of the Parliament complex towards Rakabganj Gurdwara could be opened to the public, meaning that visitors would enter and walk through the stretch where the statues have been installed. Birla said the decision was taken after consulting stakeholders. However, Ramesh said the Parliament’s Committee on Portraits and Statues last met on December 18, 2018 and had not been reconstituted in the 17th Lok Sabha from 2019 till 2024, as per the Lok Sabha’s website. Meanwhile, Birla said the security of the Parliament complex, which was recently handed over to the CISF after a security breach last year, would remain under the control of the Lok Sabha. Earlier, there were multiple agencies – the Delhi Police, CRPF and Lok Sabha's own security - deployed for different tasks but now there would be one agency, the CISF, which would be accountable to the Lok Sabha, through the Joint Secretary (security), Birla said. When asked if any of the watch and ward staff of the Lok Sabha would be let go, he said no one would lose their jobs.
