Chennai: As pressure mounted on his government, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday gave an assurance that saint-poet Tiruvalluvar’s abandoned statue will be installed at a “suitable and respectable” place at Haridwar.
He said TN Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and people of the State can rest assured that the whole controversy would be put an end to within a week.
“Saint Tiruvalluvar belongs to humanity and the whole of India, not just to people of TN. We all respect him deeply. The whole controversy arose due to a misunderstanding between the person who installed it (BJP MP Tarun Vijay) and the locals. May be he did not understand the traditions followed here. Now everything has been sorted out,” Rawat said.
His reaction came hours after Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding his intervention in the matter and ensure that the abandoned statue is dealt with due respect. “Tiruvalluvar’s statue will inspire not just people in Haridwar, but also millions of people who come to this holy town of Haridwar as pilgrims and tourists. I have instructed the district magistrate (district collector) to look for suitable places for erecting the statue and I will be finalising the place very soon,” he said. Officials indicated that the statue will be re-erected at the Kumbh Mela area. Rawat said he would not like to blame anyone for the fiasco, but said corrective steps have been taken.
