India pulls down Lenin statue in Tripura

A statue of Communist leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was pulled down in Belonia town in southern part of Tripura state on Monday.

The statue, put up during the Left rule, was brought down by a mob amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. The statue was built five years ago on the 21st year of CPI-M's rule in Tripura.

The entire incident of the statue falling down was captured on video and many Indian dailies today carried the photo, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

CPI-M claims that the incident is an example of "Communist phobia" while BJP said that the statue was taken down by the people of Tripura who were oppressed by the Left.

CPI(M) activists have accused BJP workers of vandalising the Marxist party's offices in various parts of Tripura soon after the results of last month's elections to the state legislative assembly were announced on Saturday.

BJP and its regional ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura swept the elections gaining two-thirds majority ending 25-year uninterrupted rule of the Left in the state.