The statue of Lady Justice was not true representation of the Greek goddess Themis, a symbolic personification of the moral force in judicial systems, Law Minister Anisul Haque said today.

“The idol was not the original form of Greek goddess Themis, so it was not actually any idol," he said while emerging from a programme held at Cirdap auditorium in Dhaka this afternoon.

Read More: Why, how it was removed

And by removing this from the Supreme Court premises, respect has been shown to Islam and other religions, the minister said.

If this sculpture would have been presented to the future generations it would be a distorted representation of Greek goddess Themis, the minister said.

“I would say, the image of Bangladesh has not been tarnish by the incident,” he added.

Asked whether the prime minister and chief justice talked to each other regarding the removal of the sculpture, he said, “It is a matter of the prime minister and the chief justice.  I am not supposed to know it.”

The sculpture was removed with the consent of Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, the minister added. 

At the programme, the minister handed over Tobacco Control Journalism Award 2017 among six journalists as chief guest.