Decades after Vajpayee restored Nehru's portrait, Congress removes Modi's from MP circuit house

New Delhi: If anything stands as a manifestation of the change in regime in Madhya Pradesh, it is the blank wall of Guna Circuit House. The state BJP’s media-in charge, Lokendra Parashar tweeted a photo claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s portrait has been unceremoniously removed from the walls of the circuit house.

The photo that Parashar tweeted shows minimal furniture between two sections of walls. While the left section bears the photo of President Ram Nath Kovind, the right stands empty. As per protocol, every government building, including a circuit house, must have the photo of the President and Prime Minister of India.

ऐसी निकृष्टता की उम्मीद नहीं थी जी आपसे।
यह गुना का सर्किट हाउस है, जहां से आपकी सरकार आते ही देश के प्रधानमंत्री की तस्वीर हटा दी गई।प्रधानमंत्री देश के होते हैं, किसी पार्टी के नहीं।
और यह सर्किट हाउस किसी पार्टी का दफ्तर भी नहीं है pic.twitter.com/eReklfFZj2

— Lokendra Parashar (@LokendraParasar)

Parashar alleged, "The Prime Minister’s photo has been removed soon after the Congress government took over. He is the Prime Minister of the country and not of any party, and neither does this building does not belong to any political party".  Parashar tagged Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath in his tweet but so far, it has not yielded any official response.

Interestingly, Guna is the stronghold and constituency of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was the CM contender a few weeks ago, and is now tipped to be the next general secretary of the Congress. 
Meanwhile, a few people on Twitter expressed their shock. while some, their disgust.

औछी मानसिकता

— Aslam Khan (@AslamKh01180443)

शर्मनाक, निन्दनीय

— मनोज कुमार द्विवेदी🌹 (@MpKotma)
 

बिल्कुल गलत ऐसा नहीं होना चाहिये, सरकारें आती जाती हैं लेकिन इसका यह मतलब नहीं कि संवैधानिक व्यवस्था की अनदेखी कर दें।

— Saligram Napit (@NapitSaligram)

This is in contrast to the healthy electoral politics the former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee believed in. A portrait of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had once gone missing from the South Block in the late 70s, but it was restored following the intervention of Vajpayee, then a foreign minister. He was the foreign minister from March 1977 to July 1979 in the Morarji Desai government.

Years later, recalling this incident on the floor of the House, Vajpayee talked about the missing portrait of Nehru: "I then asked where did it (portrait) go? I got no reply. That portrait was restored". Vajpayee talked about a healthy political fight, drawing huge applause from the Congress leadership, "Kya is bhavna ki kadra hai? Kya is desh mey ye bhavna panpe?" (Should such sentiments germinate?)

Decades later, the Congress, soon after coming to power in Madhya Pradesh and probably riding high on the first taste of success in years, removed PM Modi's portrait from the Guna Circuit House. And it is the Vajpayee-esque idea of healthy politics that was crushed under its feet
 

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