Jaya urges Centre to reconsider decision on Maran statue

Chennai, Nov 22 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa today urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to install a statue of late Union Minister and DMK leader Murasoli Maran in Parliament House, saying it would set a wrong precedence.

Though the Joint Parliamentary Committee for Statues and Portraits had expressed their views that ''Mr Maran's achievements were not big enough to instal his statue,'' Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi had prevailed upon the Centre by resorting to pressurising tactics, she said in a statement here.

''I have received information that Mr Karunanidhi has threatened to topple the Union Government if the Maran's statue is not installed,'' she claimed.

She said various Governments had ruled the country in the post-independence period and Mr Maran had served as Minister in some of them. There would be no space in the Parliament House if statues of all Union Ministers were to be installed, she added.

Ms Jayalalithaa stressed that the Centre should not commit any such ''blunders'' under the compulsion of coalition as the act would amount to ''insulting great leaders'' whose statues had already been installed in Parliament House.

'If Mr Karunanidhi is very keen on installing Maran's statue, he could do so at DMK headquarters 'Anna Arivalayam,'' she suggested.

The AIADMK supremo also alleged that Mr Karunanidhi had prevented the installation of MGR statue by using his clout with the Union Government.

She said the MGR statue was handed over to the Parliamentary Committee on June 21, 2006 and steps were taken to unveil the statue along with that of Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekanada. But, the MGR statue alone was not unveiled due to the biased efforts of Mr Karunanidhi, she alleged.

Ms Jayalalithaa urged the Centre to take necessary steps for the installation of MGR statue in the Parliament House.

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