Condolence meeting in Delhi
Nationwide tribute to Thengadiji
By Pramod Kumar
?Loksangrahi is the person who stops people from following the wrong path. Despite having deep study, knowledge, experience and commitment to the cause, he did not have any personal desire. Working in his organisation, he hugged others also. He truly realised the saying that ?hate the sin, not the sinner?. It is very difficult to reach such a height and place for a human being. He was an ideal human being who taught others the art of following ideals in real life,? said Shri Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah of RSS, while paying tributes to Dattopant Thengadi at a condolence meeting held in New Delhi on October 31.
The meeting was part of the countrywide condolence meetings held by BMS from October 21 to 31. There are reports of such meetings having been organised in Kolkata, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), etc. Sarsanghchalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan described Thengadiji as an Ajatshatru at the meeting held in Ahmedabad on October 25. Prant Sanghchalak, Amritbhai Kariwala, BMS state president Babubhai Kotia, Chief Minister, Narendra Modi were among the prominent persons who attended the meeting.
Shri Bhagwat said Thengadiji would have a place in the hearts of lakhs of workers spread all over the country. ?He was always in the forefront for fulfilling our needs. He had done a deep study of well-known personalities, right from Charu Majumdar to Khalil Gibran,? he added.
Shri Omprakash Aggi, organising secretary of BMS, said Thengadiji founded various organisations and built them up with his blood. ?He continued the process of building workers to ensure smooth functioning of the organisations. He established the fact that there are various sectors for social service, except politics. He showed the way to serve the nation with a true sense of service and not for any personal gains,? said Shri Aggi. ?I, on behalf of 5,000 trade unions and their over 85 lakh members, pay my humble tribute to the great soul,? he said.
Shri Gunvant Singh Kothari, organising secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, said that Thengadiji was always worried about the development of Vanvasis of the country. Paying tributes on behalf of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Sushri Rekha Raje, senior Pracharika, said that in the death of Thengadiji, the nation had lost a diamond. Swami Satyam Maharaj of Arya Samaj said Thengadiji had four prominent qualities in his life, i.e. truth, dharma, character and ahuti. Shri Jaswat Singh, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said that Thengadiji did so much work in his life that it is not generally done by an individual. Dr Ashwini Mahajan of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch said that Thengadiji used to worry about national interest. Shri Krishan Chandra Suryavanshi of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh said that Thengadiji had prepared a long chain of dedicated workers who would guide the organisation for the next 50 years.
Prominent among those who paid floral tributes included Shri H.V. Seshadri, Shri Madan Das, Thakur Ram Singh, Shri Sohan Singh, Shri Hasubhai Dave, Shri Sunder Singh Bhandari, Shri Kidarnath Sahani, Shri J.P. Mathur, Dr Bhai Mahavir, Shri Udairao Patwardhan, Prof. O.P. Kohli, Shri Muralidhar Rao, Shri Sahib Singh Verma, Sardar Chiranjiv Singh, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Dr Najma Heptullah, Prof. Balraj Madhok. Smt. Nirmala Deshpande, Shri Dinesh Kumar, Shri Ashok Prabhakar, Shri B.L. Sharma Prem, Shri Vijay Kumar Malhotra, and also leaders from the Left unions including Shri D.L. Sachdeva, Comrade Dhar, Shri Kameshwar, Shri O.P. Verma and Shri R.K. Sharma.
