The Government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that the foundation for a memorial in the honour of former President APJ Abdul Kalam will be laid in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu on July 27. This assurance came from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar after the house briefly witnessed heated exchanges between Derek O’Brien(TMC) and AIADMK members.
The Government also assured the agitated Opposition members that it will take up with the Maharashtra Government the issue of rebuilding the BR Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai. It was recently demolished.
Raising the issue of Kalam’s memorial, O’Brien said it was one year since the former President passed away and the site where he was buried and earmarked for the memorial was yet to come up. He claimed dogs were defecating there and said the Centre was saying was yet to get land for it.
AIADMK vociferously protested against it and Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien tried to pacify them saying the TMC leader had a right to put across his point. O’Brien said he was not blaming either the central or the State Government for the delay, but wanted a solution to the problem so that the memorial could be set up.
Clarifying the situation, Parrikar said while the Centre wanted five acres of land for the memorial, as of now only 1.8 acres was available. The State Government was supporting “what we are trying to do,” the Minister said adding the foundation will come up on July 27 with “whatever land is available.”
Kalam had died on July 27 last year.
On the issue of Ambedkar memorial raised by Sitaram Yechury(CPM) and backed by others including BSP supremo Mayawati, Minister for Social Justice Thawar Chand Gehlot assured them he would take up the matter with the State Government and try to get it restored as a memorial.
Yechury said the Ambedakr Bhawan set by up the iconic leader to help Dalits was not only a heritage site but also a symbol of India’s freedom struggle. The CPM leader said all structures of social justice like the Planning Commission were demolished by the BJP-led Government and claimed with the unwinding of Planning Commission, there are no longer sub-plans for uplift of the Dalit community.
Mayawati said while the Government said it was buying and converting the room into a memorial in london where Ambedkar spent his days, a building built on the land bought by him out of his
own money in Mumbai was
demolished.
Amar Shankar Sable (BJP) said the State Government was no way involved in the demolition of the building and it was done by People’s Improvement Trust. The Ambedkar Bhavan and the Buddha Bhushan printing press started by Ambedkar were demolished by People’s Improvement Trust last month claiming that it was dilapidated and a grand ‘Ambedkar Bhavan’ would come up in its place.
Other issues like shortage of doctors also came up in the House. Health Minister JP Nadda said the Government was working on easing the policy norms for starting medical colleges and increasing seats to address the problem of shortage of doctors. Nadda also said the Government was working on increasing Post Graduate seats.