Javed Akhtar reacts to row over Netaji’s statue at India Gate: ‘Idea is fine, choice of statue is not right’

Last week,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unveiled a hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, which will be installed near Delhi’s India Gate. But lyricist Javed Akhtar has said that even though the idea to install Neta Ji’s statue is fine, the “choice of the statue is not right”.

On Thursday, Javed tweeted, “The idea of Neta ji statue is fine but the choice of the statue is not right. All day the the traffic will be moving around it and the Statue will be standing in the pose of a salute. It is below his dignity It should be either sitting or raising his fist as if raising a slogan.”

Many Internet users slammed Javed in the comments section. One person tweeted, “Uncle since you are not aware, let me help you here. The canopy where Netaji’s statue will be installed in marked in red. Only pedestrian movement is allowed within India Gate premises. You can thank me later.” While another one said, “Sir, if you have any other suggestion, please tell now, so that before taking any further decision, Modi ji should consider your advice once.”

PM Narendra Modi made the announcement about the statue on Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary which was on Sunday. After the unveiling of Bose’s hologram statue, the prime minister said that attempts had been made after independence to erase the contribution of many who made sacrifices for India’s freedom. 

“But today, decades after independence, the country is correcting those mistakes,” he said. “This is a historic day, a historic programme, at a historic location… The statue is a fitting tribute to his indelible contribution to our nation,” the prime minister added.

Read More: Javed Akhtar once said he slept under trees like ‘homeless, jobless people’ when he first came to Mumbai

This statue is being built by famous sculptor Advaita Gadnayak. Neta Ji’s statue will be installed where there was earlier the statue of George V, which was removed in the year 1968 and replaced with the Amar Jawan Jyoti in 1971. The jyoti was merged with another at the National War Memorial.

(With inputs from ANI)