Translocation of Vemana statue at Yogi Vemana University kicks up a row in Andhra Pradesh

The university holds the philosopher and thinker in high esteem and accords utmost significance by using his image in its emblem, says the Vice-Chancellor

A furore erupted over translocation of the statue of philosopher and thinker Yogi Vemana from inside the campus of Yogi Vemana University (YVU) to a place outside the welcome arch of the institution.

The shifting apparently happened a fortnight ago as part of the beautification process ahead of the visit of a peer team from the National Accreditation and Assessment Committee (NAAC).

The authorities got a new welcome arch built at the entrance for better visibility from the highway and shifted the statue to this place.

As the old pedestal remained vacant, the statue of former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, located earlier near the science block, was shifted to this place, which led to the eruption of a controversy.

When contacted by The Hindu, Vice-Chancellor Munagala Surya Kalavathi said the statues were merely shifted to bring a semblance of alignment and no new statue had been added to the campus.

“The university holds Yogi Vemana in high esteem and accords utmost significance by using his image in its emblem. We also run an in-house magazine called ‘Vemana Vani’, and we don’t resort to any act that undermines his significance,” Prof. Kalavathi said.

Meanwhile, TDP district president R. Sreenivasa Reddy decried the act and blamed the State government for it. “The Chief Minister can install any number of statues for his father, but belittling the statue of Yogi Vemana, considered a people’s poet, is unacceptable,” he told the media.