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In a significant gesture honouring the legacy of former Prime Minister V P Singh, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin unveiled his statue on the Presidency College campus in Chennai on Monday, keeping a promise he had made on April 20.
The event, attended by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and family members of the late PM, also became a venue for a powerful call by Stalin to the Centre to undertake a caste census along with the national population census, thus highlighting the continued relevance of V P Singh — under whom the Mandal Commission recommendations were accepted — in the current political landscape.
Emphasising the need for proportionate reservations, Stalin stressed that such measures are essential for the realisation of social justice. He also said “we all belong to V P Singh’s family, a pan-India social justice family”.
Akhilesh joined Stalin in paying tribute to Singh, with the presence of the SP chief add a national dimension to the event.
DMK sources said that the participation of Singh’s family added a personal dimension. In his speech, Stalin said: “V P Singh was born in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh also belongs to the same state. The former chief minister of UP, the present Leader of the Opposition (in the state), the future chief minister, my dear brother Akhilesh is visiting here. He’s the son of Mulayam Singh, who was nurtured by Ram Manohar Lohia, V P Singh’s favourite leader.”
Stalin also claimed that Singh had a deep connection with Tamil Nadu and held social reformer Periyar in reverence.
“My sincere thanks to V P Singh’s wife Sita Kumari and his sons Ajaya Singh and Abhay Singh, who accepted our invitation and visited here. I don’t want to call you V P Singh’s family, because we all belong to V P Singh’s family, a pan-India social justice family,” he added.
In April, soon after Stalin’s announcement that the DMK government would build a V P Singh statue, Singh’s granddaughters Adrija Manjari and Richa Manjari had thanked the CM on social media, with their message widely circulated by DMK handles on X.
On Monday, Stalin also recalled the tumultuous times when Singh implemented the Mandal Commission’s recommendations, which granted 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). He recalled his father and late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s poetic outburst in support of these measures, underlining their shared commitment to social equality.
Stalin recounted his personal interactions with Singh, reflecting on their first meeting in 1988 and subsequent encounters. He also listed Singh’s achievements during the latter’s brief tenure as PM.
The CM went on to criticise the current state of social justice in India, pointing to the lack of representation of backward classes in various government sectors. He urged for a change in this status quo, asserting that the DMK is committed to this mission.
He also listed a number of legal initiatives being taken by the DMK government, including fighting for OBC reservations in medical and dental courses, and the establishment of a committee to monitor social justice in Tamil Nadu. He shared anecdotes, illustrating the deep bond between Singh and his father Karunanidhi, Singh’s relationship with Tamil Nadu, his admiration for Periyar and respect for Karunanidhi.
Stalin’s speech detailed Singh’s contributions to Tamil Nadu, including his role in setting up the arbitration commission for the Cauvery water dispute and his efforts in addressing the Sri Lankan issue. He recalled the historic National Integration Council meeting held in Chennai on Singh’s suggestion.
He called for a united effort across India to uplift OBC, SC, ST, minority and marginalised communities, transforming political programmes into governmental plans.
Monday’s event dovetails into Stalin’s long attempt to seek out like-minded anti-BJP parties to set up a social justice platform and carve out a national role for himself. One such meeting, held in the hybrid mode, had seen representatives from more than a dozen parties, long before the INDIA bloc began to take shape.
