A statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has reportedly gone missing from the storeroom of Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, prompting a war of words between leaders of Congress and BJP.
Taking a dig at the BJP leadership over the missing statue, senior Congress leader Virendra Sharma said, "While BJP's senior leadership is trying to "hijack" Sardar Patel's legacy, the regional leaders are insulting him."
The matter came to light after the Congress demanded that the Patel's statute, which was procured around 60 years ago, be installed at Patel Chowk here, amid renewed political war over the country's first home minister's legacy.
When the BJP-SAD controlled corporation authorities searched for the bronze statue, it was found missing.
"The mayor should explain how did the statue disappear," Sharma said. Jalandhar mayor Sunil Jyoti said, "I have instructed the store manager to look into the matter."