BJP workers bring down Communist icon Lenin's statue in Tripura's Belonia town amid chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai

Two days after BJP forged their maiden victory in the Tripura polls, party workers brought down a statue of Communist idealogue Lenin in the state's Belonia town.

In the heart of Belonia town which is situated in Tripura’s extreme south, a statue of Communist icon Lenin, stood at the centre of College Square for the last five years.

At 2.30 pm Monday, 48 hours after the assembly election results were announced, celebrating BJP workers and supporters brought it down with the help of a JCB amid cries of “Bharat Mata ki jai’’.

While the CPI(M), which lost power in the state after 25 years, described the incident as an example of “Communism phobia”, the BJP claimed that the statue was brought down by people “oppressed” by the Left.

“Eyewitnesses told me that after the statue fell, its head was dismembered from the body. And then, the BJP workers played football with Lenin’s head,’’ claimed Tapas Datta, CPI(M)’s Belonia sub-division secretary.