Context matters: Relocations of statues of the Freedom Fighters
On a social media platform X a tweet by Jairam Ramesh, an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress is going viral receiving 616.1K views, where he claimed “the statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar have just been removed from their places of prominence in front of the Parliament House. This is atrocious.”
Fact Check
DFRAC’s team fact-checked the claim by conducting a reverse image search on Google and after investigating news sources like The Indian Express, The Economic Times, and other media reports it was revealed that the claim made by the social media user @Jairam_Ramesh is misleading and false. According to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the statues of “great leaders and freedom fighters of the country,” including Mahatma Gandhi, were previously installed at different parts of the Parliament complex. As part of a landscaping and beautification plan following the construction of the new Parliament Building, these statues are being respectfully relocated to a newly developed Prerana Sthal (site of inspiration) within the Parliament House complex.
The Secretariat stated that the relocation was done to make the statues more accessible to visitors, as their previous locations made it difficult for people to view them conveniently. The Prerana Sthal is being designed to allow visitors to easily see and take inspiration from the statues of these great leaders and learn from their philosophy.
Conclusion
It is clear from the fact check by DFRAC that the claims made by Jairam Ramesh lack context. The statues have not been removed entirely but relocated to a more prominent and accessible location within the Parliament House complex as part of a planned beautification project. Therefore, the claim is misleading without the full context of the situation.
