TN govt to install former PM VP Singh's statue in Chennai

CHENNAI: A statue of former Prime Minister V P Singh, a champion of social justice, will be installed in Chennai to honour his contribution and commitment to social justice, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Thursday.

Making a suo motu statement in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said Singh implemented the 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in Central government jobs based on the recommendation of the B P Mandal Commission. Paying rich tributes to the former Prime Minister, Stalin said despite being born in an affluent family, V P Singh reached out to the OBCs and moved forward on social justice-related issues. ''He did not belong to a backward community by birth yet Singh ensured the 27 per cent quota was implemented nationally,'' Stalin said.

The life-size statue, which would be installed in Chennai, would be a tribute to the ''custodian of social justice'' for his contribution, as well as for his creation of the Cauvery Water Tribunal during his tenure as PM of the National Front government and for naming the international airport in Chennai after late Chief Minister C N Annadurai and the domestic terminal after another former Chief Minister K Kamaraj at the time. ''The statue is also meant to express Tamil society's gratitude to him,'' Stalin said.