TS Venkatesan, Chennai
Now the saint Thiruvalluvar, who wrote the world popular didactic couplet Thirukkural, would link the South and North once his 12 feet statue is installed in Haridwar in Uttarakhand. On June 18, Union Minister of State Pon Radhakrishnan flagged off the Thiruvalluvar Ganga Payanam (Yatra). Participating in the function Tarun Vijay, BJP MP from Uttarakhand urged the MPs from Tamil Nadu cutting across political affiliations to urge the Centre to install a Thiruvalluvar statue in the Parliament complex. The yatra, which started at Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the country, as part of his mission to install a 12.5-feet high statue of Tamil savant Thiruvalluvar weighing 4.5 tons will culminate at Haridwar on June 26. Before the yatra began, senior Congress leader and father of state BJP chief Tamilisai and others who were present there paid floral tribute to savant Thiruvalluvar’s statue.
“The objective of this non-political yatra culminating in Haridwar on June 26 is to show solidarity of the North with Tamil saint poet Thiruvalluvar”s message of equality and end social discrimination in society,” claimed Tarun Vijay. He said that six State Governors, besides all political party leaders from Tamil Nadu are taking part in the Thiruvalluvar Statue installation ceremony.
Tarun Vijay said that he regarded the poet who authored Thirukkural, the celebrated ancient treatise on ethics, as a national icon. “If India has to appreciate and safeguard national unity, there is no way but to accept Thiruvalluvar as the national icon of knowledge and civilisational wisdom. That”s what makes me to bring Thiruvalluvar statue to Haridwar on the banks of the Ganga. Let the North learn how to pronounce Thiruvalluvar and understand, appreciate his message before boasting of a national integration that”s driven by only North Indian symbols and narration. Thiruvalluvar on the Ganga means India recognises and appreciates the Southern contribution to national life,” he said.
Tarun Vijay said that apart from Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat who will be the chief guest at the Haridwar function, other Congressmen like Puducherry CM V Narayansamy and former Union minister Sudarsana Natchiappan will participate in the consecration of the Thiruvalluvar statue in Chennai on June 21. He has invited TN chief minister Jayalalithaa besides DMK, PMK and VCK leaders for the event. The BJP MP from Uttarakhand had called on Governor K Rosaiah at the Raj Bhawan, sought his blessing for his “Thiruvalluvar-Ganga Payanam”.
| Tamilisai to dine at Dalit homes for One year Reaching out to the mass particularly Dalit section, the State BJP Chief Tamilisai Soundarajan has embarked on a new scheme of plans. Emulating party president Amit Shah’s move to dine with Dalit families, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan has decided to have one meal a day at a Dalit home for the next one year to know and understand their problems. The Dalits are the most neglected and exploited community by the Dravidian and congress parties for a long time. |
Once it was decided that a statue would be installed, the group approached LMP Kumaresan, a fifth generation sculptor, of Koolipatti village in the district who completed the work in 35 days at a total cost of Rs 20 lakh. The stone statue will be taken to Haridwar by train.
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