India: Lenin Statue Decapitated As Right Wing Party Wins Election

A fiberglass statue of Communist icon Lenin has been moved to safety after Indian voters celebrated their election win by decapitating it and using Lenin's 'skull' to 'play ball'.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters charged the 11-foot statue in College Square, South Tripura, just 48 hours after the official assembly election results confirmed their victory.

"The head is severed from the main body of the statue, so it presents an ungainly sight," said Amit Ghosh, Belonia Municipal Council CEO. "We will try to wrap it up in something. Whatever happened is condemnable. Lenin is a world icon."

Tapas Datta, Communist-Marxist Party of India (CPM) sub-division secretary, said: "Eyewitnesses told me that after the statue fell, its head was dismembered from the body and then the BJP workers played football with Lenin's head."

Lenin's statue is just one of the city's political monuments, standing alongside Karl Marx, Ghandi and Nataji. The fate of the damaged sculpture will be discussed at a town hall meeting because repair costs are expected to be considerable.

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"We initially let the damaged statue be there as we were not sure about the mood of the people," Ghosh told PTI. "We let things subside a bit and now, as per instructions from higher authorities, we have decided to store the statue in our office premises."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the destructive debauchery, saying he "strongly disapproved" of the vandalism of political and social icons.

Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, however, defended the perpetrators on his personal Twitter account: "Fundamental questions coming up. We removed George V from India Gate, New Delhi, Queen Victoria from (in) front of her memorial in Kolkata, renamed Aurangzeb Road, all by government fiats. What if the government similarly decides to remove Lenin's statue, rename Lenin Sarani? Any answers?"

The elections ended a 25-year legacy of the CPM; the incident has been denounced as "Communismphobia" and is one of almost 150 alleged cases of violence by the "oppressed" left.