By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Activists have asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati to take action against those who razed the statue of Sardar Patel at Pratapgarh and warned of public protests if punitive action is not taken soon.
The statue of the independent India’s first home minister was to be unveiled on his birth anniversary Oct 31, when on an order from Pratapgarh district magistrate it was razed alongwith the platform on which it was built, setting off an uproar among the political parties.
“The people of Karamsad, Sardar Patel’s birth place, are very upset over the Pratapgarh sacrilege,” said Ulhas Patel, chairman of Sardar Patel Kedavani Trust and a Sardar Patel Trust member.
Ulhas Patel told IANS Wednesday that a public meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. which will be attended by Karamsad villagers to decide on the future course of their protest action.
“We will be petitioning the President, the prime minister, the Lok Sabha speaker, the chief minister of Gujarat and the collector. Tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) decision by the villagers will be crucial and if nothing is done soon, a major protest will be held Dec 15 (Nirman Day), the date on which Sardar died,” Patel said.