TN CM MK Stalin unveils former PM VP Singh’s statue at Chennai’s Presidency College, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav attends event

According to a statement from the state government, the life-size statue of Singh was built at a cost of Rs 52.2 lakh.

Speaking at the event, Stalin said, “The statue was built to honour a great leader and as a gesture to express the gratitude of the Tamil community. If Uttar Pradesh was Singh’s motherland, Tamil Nadu was his fatherland.”

सामाजिक न्याय के प्रवर्तक पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री स्व. श्री विश्वनाथ प्रताप सिंह जी की मूर्ति के अनावरण के अवसर पर चेन्नई में। pic.twitter.com/VUjp8INwQP

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 27, 2023

“He (VP Singh) would never miss to refer to Thanthai Periyar (social activist) in his speeches and that’s why, in the land of Periyar’s social justice, a statue has been set up for him for the first time,” Stalin said.

Heaping praises on Singh, Stalin said it was he who had opened the doors of social justice to the oppressed. He said though Singh served as a prime minister for just 11 months, he achieved a lot.

Stalin added, “It was VP Singh, the guardian of social justice, who had implemented the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in central government jobs based on the recommendation of the Mandal Commission. VP Singh had also constituted the Cauvery Water Tribunal.”

“V P Singh did not hail from a backward community, neither did he belong to a poor family but he fought for the reservation of the poor, downtrodden and oppressed people,” he said.

Stalin further added that Singh respected former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi aka Kalaignar as his brother and they both shared a great camaraderie.

Stalin said along with the delayed national population census, the Union government should also take up caste census and provide reservations in a proper manner.

He added that to monitor this, a committee comprising MPs from all parties should be formed and all the parties who care for social justice should join hands for the welfare of the people.