Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a 216-feet statue — the Statue of Equality — commemorating 10th century Vedic philosopher and social reformer Ramanujacharya, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The statue, he said, "puts our nation at the forefront as a firm believer in equality, having one of the most diverse populations globally", Trend reports citing The Indian EXPRESS.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao skipped the event; he did not receive Modi at the airport either earlier in the day, with the state BJP slamming him. The CM’s office said he was unwell and resting. The PM was received by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy and Telangana Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav among others.
Speaking at the function in the evening, Modi likened his government’s schemes such as providing free gas cylinders, free electricity connections, Jan Dhan accounts, and other schemes to the marginalised communities with Ramanujacharya’s philosophy. He said the Centre’s schemes cover all people, irrespective of their caste and religion.
Modi said, “I am proud to witness the moment of the inauguration of the Statue of Equality. It is indeed a very proud moment for every Indian. India holds many great minds, and one of them was Sri Ramanujacharya, who taught us the lesson of equality between all cast, creed, and gender.”
The Statue of Equality, he said, “puts our nation at the forefront as a firm believer in equality, having one of the most diverse populations globally…”
Earlier in the day, Modi toured the complex housing Ramanujacharya’s statue. Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya advocated social equality among all sections. The inauguration of the Statue of Equality is part of the ongoing 12-day Ramanuja Sahasrabdi ‘Samaroham’ to mark the 1,000th birth anniversary of Ramanujacharya, which began February 2.
Slamming Rao over his absence, Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar said the CM who “talks about the Constitution does not respect it”. “Mr KCR, Is this your culture? You claim to have read 80,000 books. Is it what you have learnt from them,” PTI said quoting him.
The development comes amid an escalating war of words between Rao’s party, TRS, and BJP. Justifying KCR’s staying away from the PM’s programmes, the TRS tweeted, “There is no necessity for the CM to receive PM in a private visit!
It’s totally as per the Protocol issued by Govt of India validated by Ministry of Home Affairs.” The party also posted that the state BJP should “stop these cheap & misleading tactics”.
The statue was proposed and designed by Seer Chinna Jeeyar, who heads JIVA. It is made of ‘panchaloha’, a combination of five metals: gold, silver, copper, brass, and zync. The 54-foot base building, named ‘Bhadra Vedi’, has dedicated floors for a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, an educational gallery which has details about many works of Ramanujacharya.
Seer Chinna Jeeyar Swami said, “Bhagavad Ramanujacharya remained a true icon of equality for 1,000 years and this project would ensure that his teachings are practiced for at least another 1,000 years. Our mission is to make the Statue of Equality a culturally paramount destination for people across the globe and inspire everyone to make the world a more equal place to live.”