Bangalore: Tamil Saint-Poet Thiruvalluar's Statue Unveiled
TNN
Bangalore, Aug 9: The unveiling of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluar's statue ending an 18-year old standoff would pave the way for bonding of hearts between people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said on Sunday.
"These are not just statues. These are symbols of bonding of hearts. It is my dream that the people of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka share a peaceful relationship," he said after his Tamil Nadu counterpart M Karunanidhi unveiled the statue at a function.
Quoting a couplet from Tirukkural written by Tiruvalluvar, he said "ill feeling between neighbours will never be good to any society." The same sentiment is expressed in the writings of Sarvajna also, Yeddyurappa said.
"Nationality and patriotism should be part of our heritage. We are Indians first, Kannadigas, Tamilians, Telugus, Malyalees, Hindi speaking people etc, later. Indianess is the binding force between all of us," he said.
Coming down on those opposing the installation of the statue, he said "I feel it is not appropriate to oppose the statue in the name of Kannada language. We should treat all the visionaries born in any state in the country as assets of our nation."
"Limiting such great personalities to one state or region and campaigning against such achievers is unbecoming of any citizen of the country," he said.
Both Sarvajna and Thiruvalluvar stood for humanity. "We should find solutions to our problems in their words," he said.