The decision of Congress-led Rajasthan government to allot costly 5600 square meters plot to construct a memorial for former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat may be a noble example of politics of cordiality, but it is certainly an anti-public step in wrong direction setting an unhealthy trend for others. It may be recalled that spot-decision of cremation of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma at a ground other than normal cremation ground and later efforts to convert the ground into a memorial drew sharp public-criticism, and even the matter reached the Delhi High Court.
Even the Union Government had once taken a wise decision for not converting government-bungalows into memorials after last such conversion was made in transforming a part of 10 Janpath (New Delhi) as Lal Bhahadur Shastri memorial. This decision prevented Leyton’s zone of New Delhi from being a memorial city rather than the capital city restricting several bungalows like 6 Krishna Menon Marg having been converted into memorials.
There should be a policy of not glorifying political rulers through such waste-spend of public-resources by creating memorials out of government land or money either at Centre or in states. Otherwise there will be a flood of such memorials in names of mentors of deciding political rulers.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Delhi