Dhoti-Kurta Makeover For Odisha’s Ex-CM Nabakrushna Choudhury Fails To Quell ‘Distorted’ Statue Row

Angul: A day after replacing ‘distorted’ statue of noted freedom fighter of Odisha and former Chief Minister, Nabakrushna Choudhary, the district administration was on Wednesday again forced to locked the main gate of Gopabandhu Park in Angul Municipality and remove it amid allegation that the dhoti resembled a ‘lehenga’.

A full length proper statute of the Gandhian clad in a kurta and dhoti was put up at the park on Tuesday in a hurried manner after his earlier depiction in a pair of shirt and trousers sparked off strong resentment across the state. Choudhury led a simple lifestyle and wore only dhoti and Khadi kurta.

His daughter, Krishna Mohanty, however, was not impressed. “Never did my father clad dhoti the way shown in the statue. What I fail to understand is why the officials did not approach us for his pictures despite the fact that our house is about 2 km from the municipality office,” she said.

The Gandhian reportedly wore the dhoti above the knees.

She further said that the statue was carved by non-Odia artisans, who had no idea about the former CM, and blasted the administration for showing disrespect to him.

A lawyer has also lodged a complaint in this regard at Angul police station demanding necessary action.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to build a replica of his statue on the Odisha Assembly premises and instal it at Angul. An official team will also visit Baji Rao hostel set up by the former CM and Malati Devi on Thursday for its development and conservation.

On Tuesday, the district administration had express deep regret over the issue and had assured to make the amends. Representatives of different Gandhian organisations had also met chief advisor in the office of the chief minister, R Balakrishnan, at the Lok Seva Bhavan in this regard.

Stating that henceforth statues of eminent personalities can be installed only after permission from the Culture Department, he had assured strong action against those responsible for the distorted statue of the freedom fighter.