Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated a memorial for former President APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram on his second death anniversary. The memorial, located at Kalam’s burial site in Pei Karumbu, was built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
“It is this sacred land that gave India one of its most famous sons, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam,” Modi said at the ceremony. “It is a great honor for me to touch this sacred soil of Rameswaram, a center of deep spiritual knowledge. Dr Kalam inspired the youth. I can see that today’s youth want to become job creators.”
Modi unveiled a plaque and a bust of Kalam inside the memorial and later met the former president’s family. The prime minister was accompanied by the National Democratic Alliance’s vice-presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, among others.
During his speech, Modi also remembered former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. “Missing Amma here, I can feel the void,” he said. “Her soul will continue to shower blessings. If Amma was here today in our midst, she would have been very happy and would have extended her good wishes. She is a leader we all remember.”
The prime minister also flagged off exhibition bus “Kalam Sandesh Vahini”, which will travel across various states and reach the Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 15.
Kalam had died of a cardiac arrest in Shillong in 2015.
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