Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the BJP government at the Centre was committed to Vallalar’s ideal of feeding the hungry.
Quoting the famous verse from Thiruvarutpa in which Vallalar says “Every time I saw crops withering, I withered too,” the Prime Minister pointed out that the government had provided free ration to 80 crore Indians as a major relief effort during COVID-19.
In his video message played at Raj Bhavan at the function organised to unveil a new statue of Vallalar on the Raj Bhavan premises on the 200th birth anniversary of the saint, he said Vallalar was ahead of his times when it came to social reforms. Vallalar’s vision of god went beyond the barriers of religion, caste and creed. He said Vallalar would have blessed the recent legislation passed by the government to provide reservation for women in the legislatures.
Stating that Vallalar wanted the youth to be fluent in Tamil, Sanskrit and English, Mr. Modi highlighted the measures taken by the present government in the last nine years to strengthen education in the country.
Addressing the gathering after unveiling the statue, Governor R.N. Ravi said Vallalar exemplified sanatana dharma. He said sanatana dharma was all-inclusive and can never advocate or tolerate any form of discrimination. He said some people gave a distorted image of sanatana dharma either due to ignorance or due to misunderstanding.
In a veiled reference to the recent controversial remarks of Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan said certain “princes” levelled an attack on sanatana dharma in their bid to gain nationwide attention. He said no one can destroy sanatana dharma.
