A statue of Lenin installed outside Jiagunge Sripat Singh College in Murshidabad, West Bengal, was found missing on Friday morning after being seen in place on Thursday evening, prompting competing allegations from the CPI(M) and the BJP. The incident has turned a public installation into the focus of a fresh political dispute over vandalism, accountability and the protection of civic property.
According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, the statue was discovered removed from its base at Jiagunge in Murshidabad. The report does not identify who removed it or provide details of a police complaint, investigation or arrests. The statue’s disappearance was first noticed on Friday morning, while it had reportedly remained installed outside the college until Thursday evening.
Murshidabad district CPI(M) secretary Jamir Mollah alleged that BJP supporters were responsible for removing the statue. He referred to earlier incidents in which religiously motivated BJP members were arrested for vandalising Lenin statues and accused the party of repeating the act for political vendetta.
“But they should remember they will never be able to wipe out Lenin’s worldwide ideology,” Mollah was quoted as saying in the report. His statement presented the incident as part of a continuing political conflict over communist symbols and public representations of historical figures.
The BJP denied involvement. State Backward Classes Welfare Department minister and Murshidabad MLA Gouri Shankar Ghosh condemned the incident while rejecting the allegations against his party. He said the BJP did not believe in vandalising installations of national or foreign leaders and icons, and suggested that opposition parties, including the CPI(M) and Congress, may have removed the statue to malign the BJP.
“I request the police to arrest the culprits immediately at any cost irrespective of their political affiliations,” Ghosh was quoted as saying. His demand places responsibility for identifying those involved with the police, regardless of their political affiliation.
The incident has an immediate civic dimension beyond the political exchange. A statue installed in front of an educational institution occupies a public-facing space, and its removal raises questions about who controls such installations, how they are protected and which authority is responsible for responding when they are damaged or removed. The available report does not specify whether the statue belonged to the college, a local organisation or another public body.
The allegations remain contested. The CPI(M) has accused the BJP, while the BJP has denied involvement and made a counter-allegation against opposition parties. No confirmed account of the removal, the identity of those responsible or the status of a police investigation was provided in the report. The next formal step is expected to be action by the police to establish how the statue was removed and identify those responsible.
