If Sheikh Mohd Abdullah launched a Quit Kashmir movement and agitated against Maharaja Hari Singh in May 1946, his grand son Omar Abdullah, who is currently Chief Minister of the State, has left the statues of Maharaja Hari Singh in a state of neglect here in the winter capital.
last year on April 1, 2012 the king size statue of Maharaja Hari Singh was unveiled on the Jammu-Tawi river front by his son and Congress MP Karan Singh in the august company of Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and several other prominent citizens of the State. The National Conference Ministers and local leaders skipped the function as they were not keen to be seen in the company of statue of Maharaja Hari Singh.
Ironically, the State Congress unit which had attempted to hijack the entire show and tried their level best to identify themselves with the legacy of Maharaja Hari Singh has also ignored statues of Hari Singh after unveiling them. At present they stand isolated and unattended without any proper care in Jammu city.
Ajatshatru Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Hari Singh is a sitting MlC from the National Conference quota in the Upper House has failed to live up to the expectations of the common people and is often charged with ignoring the upkeep of these statues.
A veteran soldier drawing freedom fighters pension told The Pioneer, “The State Government distributes lakhs of rupees as pension to those who fought against the ruler of the State but it has left the statues of Hari Singh unattended. The veteran soldier said there are so many organisations, business houses and above all the Jammu Municipal Corporation and Jammu Development Authority who played key role in installing these statues but they have also turned a nelson’s eye to the plight of Maharaja Hari Singh here in the winter capital of the State. PNS