Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin unveiled a statue of former Prime Minister VP Singh here, calling it a "duty" of the ruling DMK to honour the late "guardian of social justice." He also called upon the Centre to take up caste-wise census along with the "delayed" national population census to ensure proportionate reservation for the deserving. If Uttar Pradesh was Singh's mother-state, Tamil Nadu was his "father-state," Stalin said.
Stalin unveiled life-sized statue, installed on the Presidency College premises in the city, in lines with an announcement made by him in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in April this year. Samajwadi Party leader and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Singh's family members were present on the occasion.
Later, addressing a public event, Stalin said he considered it as his duty to install the statue of the guardian of social justice on the college premises so that the life and achievements of Singh could be learnt by everyone.
"His history should be told to the students. That's why we have erected his statue in a college... also, the DMK considers it as its duty to install Singh's statue," he said. He added the statue is located near the memorial of late DMK president M Karunanidhi on the Marina Beach.
Stalin said he had met Singh only twice in his lifetime and the former Prime Minister had appreciated him for the massive procession he had taken in Chennai in 1988. He recorded his appreciation for Singh's family including his wife Sita Kumari, son Ajay Singh, and others, for attending the function.
"I don't wish to call you as V P Singh's family...we are also part of the V P Singh family. We are showing our gratitude to him by installing a statue for Singh, who firmly implemented the Mandal Commission recommendation," Stalin said.
Ajay Singh thanked Stalin for his gesture. Akhilesh Yadav said the unveiling of the statue sent a clear message across the country ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Stalin, whose home state Tamil Nadu has a caste-based reservation of 69 per cent, had in April announced that the Tamil Nadu government would install a statue for Singh, then recalling that the former PM had implemented the 27 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes in Central government jobs based on the recommendation of the B P Mandal Commission.