Remove bust of Nathuram Godse from Hindu Mahasabha office in Gwalior, Collector orders

The leaders of the right-wing outfit Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha had recently installed a bust of Nathuram Godse in its Gwalior office.

Bhopal: The authorities in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday ordered the removal of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, which was recently installed by the right-wing outfit Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha in its office in Gwalior.

According to ANI, the order came from the office of Gwalior District Collector following strong objections raised by several organisations, including Congress, which strongly condemned the leaders of the outfit for installing a statue of Godse.

Following the collector's order, the local police have now taken possession of Godse's bust and sealed the room in which the outfit's leaders had recently dedicated a temple in his name.

The police action was resisted by several leaders of the right-wing outfit.

After installing Godse's bust, the Hindu Mahasabha leaders had observed his death anniversary on November 15.

The Gwalior district administration had earlier denied permission to the Hindu Mahasabha for construction of a temple in the name of Nathuram Godse.

Hindu Mahasabha national vice president Jaiveer Bharadwaj, who had installed a 32-inch-tall bust of Godse at the outfit's office in Gwalior's Daulatganj, said their request to the district administration on November 9 that they be allowed to build a temple to Godse was categorically denied.

He then said that with the bust installed, a "temple" for Godse has now been built.

"Nobody should have any objection to this as we have set up the temple in our own space. It is Mahasabha's own property," Bharadwaj said.

The Congress had raised serious objections to the Hindu Mahasabha installing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi's killer. 

The party had even called for registering a case of sedition against the right-wing group. 

"This is a conspiracy to disgrace the Father of the Nation... We demand that a case of sedition be filed against these people," Ajay Singh, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, said.

Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia too criticised the group. 

"A temple of Bapu's killer is being established just under the nose of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who pretended to be fasting using the name of Gandhiji. This is a shameful and condemnable act," Scindia tweeted.

The BJP, however, said Congress should desist from claiming sole ownership of Mahatma Gandhi's legacy. 

"Mahatma Gandhi's legacy is the legacy of this country... If anybody has violated the law and the Constitution, such activity would come under the purview of law," state BJP spokesperson Rajnish Jain said.