Memorial for APJ Kalam to come-up at Dilli Haat
Delhi government announced that a memorial for former President APJ Abdul Kalam will soon come up at INA Dilli Haat. Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra revealed that he'd be travelling to Rameshwaram (Kalam's birthplace) to bring back the belongings of Dr. Kalam (books, veena and spectacles). These belongings will be kept inside the Delhi Assembly till July 27 and then moved to Dilli Haat.
Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma made a controversial statement about former President Kalam. In an interview to a TV channel, he said that despite being a Muslim, Kalam was a great man, a nationalist and a humanist. He was justifying the government's decision of renaming Aurangzeb road to APJ Abdul Kalam road. He said that Kalam was an inspirational man, while Aurangzeb was not.
Lashing out at Sharma, Congress Spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said that he had insulted the Muslims of the country. He said it was not right of Sharma to question the patriotism of Muslims who had laid their life for India. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi condemned Sharma's remarks and asked for his removal from the cabinet. He added that speaking against Muslims was RSS' ideology.
Former President Kalam's family was met with disappointment when their request to Home Minister Rajnath Singh about dedicating a Knowledge Centre in memory of Kalam in Delhi was not accepted.
The bungalow of former President Kalam was allotted to Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma. 10, Rajaji Marg was Kalam's residence after his Presidency ended in 2007. On demands of converting the residence into a memorial, Sharma said that it was the government's policy not to convert any government bungalow into a memorial. He said he had accepted Centre's offer of accommodating the bungalow.
Bhagwan Singh, a senior journalist from Tamil Nadu had filed a petition on the website Change.org. The petition wanted that Kalam's home should to be turned into a Knowledge Centre. The petition says that setting up the 'Dr. Abdul Kalam International Knowledge Centre' at his residence would serve as a universal destination for scholars. The petition was signed by 1980 supporters.
The Aam Aadmi Party has criticized the Centre for allotting Former President APJ Abdul Kalam's bungalow to Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma. They said the comments made by Sharma on Kalam in September were censurable. AAP said the Centre had insulted the late President by not converting his residence into a Knowledge Centre. The house has to be vacated by 31 October 2015.
Issuing a clarification over Kalam's residence-allotment, Centre cited a SC judgment of 5 July 2013, in which it ruled that no government bungalow should be converted into a memorial. Centre said that Mahesh Sharma did not have an official accommodation and it was allotted to him on vacation-basis. Government said it had already decided to build a memorial for Kalam at Rameswaram, Kalam's birthplace.
Former president APJ Abdul Kalam's grand nephew allegedly quit the Bharatiya Janata Party over differences with the party over Kalam's bungalow. Syed Ibrahim (aka Sheikh Salim) argued that the Central government had abandoned the demand of the public. He said that public opinion was one on the decision to convert Dr Kalam's bungalow into a knowledge centre in Delhi.
