An engraved ‘Bhagavad Gita’ near the statue of late president, APJ Abdul Kalam has triggered a new controversy. While Kalam’s family sought to end the issue by placing a copy of Quran and Bible near the sculpture, the leader of a local Hindu outfit opposed the same saying, “no permission was taken” to place two other holy books near the statue.
However, the officials manning the memorial kept the Bible and Quran at the surrounding area of the statue that led Hindu Makkal Katchi leader, K Prabhakaran to file a complaint. “I respect all these books. But keeping them (in the memorial) without permission is wrong. Steps should be taken to see that such things are not done again,” he said.
On the ongoing controversy, Newsd talked to Kalam’s advisor, Srijan Pal Singh who had spent years with the people’s president and have written several books on him to know how Kalam would have felt over the ‘Gita’ row.
“I was with Abdul Kalam for so long and have written three books on him. And I can say with an authority that it is entirely wrong to drag him in any controversy related to religions. He himself had cited, Gita in several of his speeches and I can say this because I was with him. In fact, bringing his name on such controversies is against Kalam’s ideologies. He is beyond all religion,” said the Indian author.
“Isn’t a pleasing sight to see a Gita engraved near the statue of a Muslim boy who belongs to entire Indian and not from a particular religion?” he asked.
