Plaque on R Shankar statue found shattered; Congress blames Corporation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The plaque on the statue of former Chief Minister and KPCC president R. Shankar at Palayam was found shattered on his 53rd death anniversary, sparking strong protests from Congress leaders. The broken granite slab displayed information about R. Shankar in Malayalam.

Congress workers alleged that Corporation employees were behind the damage and staged a sit-in in front of the statue. The incident came to light when former Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and other leaders arrived in the morning to offer floral tributes. A three-foot section of the plaque on one side of the pedestal was found smashed into pieces.

Corporation officials, however, suggested that the plaque may have loosened and fallen while the area was being cleaned. Installation work for an LED wall had recently taken place near the park. The R. Shankar Foundation, which maintains the statue and park, stated that the plaque was intact when the statue was cleaned on Thursday.

Congress leaders accused the Corporation of trespassing into land entrusted to the Foundation and carrying out unauthorised construction work for the LED board, leading to the damage. “The Corporation has insulted a former Chief Minister even on his death anniversary,” Chennithala said, adding that the local body had no authority to enter the premises and damage the monument.

The protest was led by Chennithala and attended by Palode Ravi, Sarath Chandra Prasad, and Adv. G. Subodhan and others. KPCC president Sunny Joseph, Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan, AICC general secretary Deepdas Munshi, K. Muraleedharan, M.M. Hassan, N. Sakthan and M. Vincent also reached the site. District Congress committees held demonstrations in 14 districts.

R. Shankar Foundation president T. Sarath Chandra Prasad submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister demanding action. Museum police have begun an inquiry. He warned that the Foundation would launch stronger agitations if the government failed to resolve the issue promptly.