Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 25: Retired Justice H N Nagamohan Das, who was the president of Maharshi Valmiki Award Selection Committee, justified the selection of former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda for the award.

He said that Deve Gowda was chosen over others because of the fact that he was the one who had recommended to the centre to bring Valmiki and Nayaka communities under the category of scheduled tribes. His other achievement was that he had created 'Gurupeeta' for Valmiki community, he stated.

Speaking at a programme organized by the state government to celebrate Valmiki Jayanti on Wednesday at the banquet hall of Vidhana Soudha here, he further said that it had been decided to confer this award to a person from other community this time, as it was felt that awards being given in the name of people like Valmiki, Buddha, Basava and Kanakadasa, who had made immense contribution for the progress of humanity as a whole should not be confined to only their communities.