A sacred book ‘Bhagavad Gita’ engraved which appeared by the statue of former President APJ Abdul Kalam at his memorial in Rameswaram. The book stand with words ‘Bhagavad Gita’ has sparked outrage on social media. The wooden statue of Kalam playing the musical instrument ‘Veena’ in the Rs 15 crore memorial, designed and built by the Defence Research and Development Agency with which Kalam was associated for a long time.

The Hindu sacred book appeared next to the former President’s memorial which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week has triggered a controversy. However, this controversy took a fresh turn after the scientist’s family placed a copy of the Quran and Bible near the memorial. As the controversy kick-started Tamil Nadu’s opposition MDMK alleged that it is a “sinister move by the BJP government”.

Trying to calm down the tension, a family member of Kalam placed a Quran and Bible near it. Underscoring that Dr. Kalam was “above any religion”, a member of his family who did not want to be named, said they were foxed by the sudden appearance of the engraving at the foot of Dr. Kalam’s statue. “Only on the day of the dedication, it was quietly placed before the Prime Minister arrived. It was a surprise,” he said.

His relatives Sheik Dawood and Salim as saying,

“An unnecessary controversy was raised by some people. DRDO officials worked tirelessly for the memorial construction and had not sculpted the Bhagavad Gita near the statue with any (ill) intention. Now we have left two books Quran and Bible near the statue.”

A local Hindu outfit protested the move by claiming that “no permission was taken” to place the holy books there. Hindu Makkal Katchi leader K Prabhakaran filed a police complaint claiming that the two holy books (of Quran and Bible) were placed without permission from authorities. “I respect all these books. But keeping them (in the memorial) without permission is wrong. Steps should be taken to see that such things are not done again,” he told reporters.

Dr. Kalam loved, respected and quoted from all religions, said MDMK chief Vaiko. “People who would visit the memorial all over the world, shouldn’t mistake that he loved only the Gita,” Mr. Vaiko said. He also insisted that a copy of Tamil treatise Thirukkural text replace the Gita. Dr. Kalam had often quoted couplets from it during his speeches. He quoted them even during his address to the Greek Parliament.

They said Kalam was a leader to all Indians and no one should seek to politicize the issue. An MDMK spokesperson said party founder Vaiko had already questioned the need for a Bhagavad Gita there when Kalam used to refer only from ‘Thirukkural’. A PMK leader, who did not wish to be named, also questioned the need for sculpting the wooden piece with the name of ‘Bhagavad Gita’, saying Kalam was common to all citizens of India.

The memorial has an entrance that resembles Delhi’s India Gate, a dome that reminds one of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and a replica of the doors of the Tanjore temple. During its construction, various materials, including sand, stones, and water were brought from various parts of the country to make it a symbol of national integration.

The Kalam memorial is situated at Peikarambu in Tamil Nadu near Kalam’s native village. It also has a display of the replica of rockets and missiles on which Kalam had worked. The memorial also has about 900 paintings and 200 rare photographs of the late scientist.