A statue of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee has been installed at Mangalpur More in Balurghat, South Dinajpur, replacing the Mother Teresa statue that was removed from the prominent crossing about a week ago. The move has triggered criticism from the Trinamool Congress and the Left Front over the choice of site, while the BJP has said the Mother Teresa statue was taken away for repairs and will be restored to its original location.
Union minister of state and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar unveiled the new statue on Monday afternoon. Balurghat MLA Bidyut Kumar Roy, Tapan MLA Budhrai Tudu, South Dinajpur district BJP president Swarup Chowdhury and other party leaders attended the ceremony.
Mangalpur More is widely known locally as BJP More. The crossing is near the BJP’s town office and has become the focus of a dispute over how public spaces in the town are named, used and associated with political and civic identities.
The Mother Teresa statue originally stood in front of Matri Sadan, a healthcare facility operated by the Balurghat municipality. It was moved to Mangalpur More around two years ago. Sources in the civic body told The Telegraph that the statue had been damaged and was removed for repairs.
The Trinamool Congress and the Left Front have questioned the decision to install Mookerjee’s statue at the same location. Leaders from both groups said alternative sites could have been considered. Left supporters also staged a protest at the crossing after the installation.
The BJP has offered a different account of the history of the site. Its leaders said the Mother Teresa statue had stood outside Matri Sadan for years before being kept in storage for a prolonged period. They alleged that the Trinamool-led municipality installed it at BJP More ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in an attempt to change the identity of a location long associated with the BJP.
Majumdar said the BJP had been seeking permission to install Mookerjee’s statue at the crossing for a long time, particularly because the party’s town office is located nearby. “We have been demanding the statue of Syama Prasad Mookerjee at the site for a long time, particularly because the party’s town office is located nearby. We approached the municipality with a formal request, and following the approval, we arranged its installation,” he said.
He also said the crossing had been known as BJP More for many years. According to Majumdar, the Trinamool-controlled municipality had unexpectedly shifted the Mother Teresa statue from outside Matri Sadan to the crossing. He maintained that the statue had now been removed only for restoration and would be returned to its original location once the work was complete.
The dispute has placed the Balurghat municipality’s role in approving and managing public installations at the centre of the controversy. The competing claims have not changed the immediate fact that the Mangalpur More site now carries a newly installed statue, while the status and restoration timeline of the Mother Teresa statue remain tied to the civic body’s stated repair process.
