Just over a month after the AIADMK General Council resolved that the former party supremo should be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously and a bronze statue of hers be installed in Parliament, the demand has resurfaced again.
AIADMK MP Vijila Sathyananth has now written to the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and said, “We lost Amma of Tamil Nadu people. Ten crore people called her and now calling her as Amma. Amma cannot be replaced. She is a personification of love and compassion, a person of enduring fame, outstanding administrator, great orator, highly intelligent and well-read person, emotionally connected to people, worked endlessly till her last breath for the uplift of poor people, the great charismatic people’s Chief Minister, iron lady of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi Amma brought all round development in our State, Tamil Nadu, especially the bold policies and steps which have been a great boon for all the needy people and have been a role model to many States to follow.”
She adds that even her arch rivals said, ‘We never ever wanted her to die’ and this is testament to her greatness. “We request that the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, be conferred posthumously on Amma to recognize her exemplary 32 years of public service. We urge upon the Centre to install her life-size bronze statue in the Parliament complex and also recommend her name for Nobel Prize for Women and Child Upliftment,” she said.
Justifying the demand, Sathyananth says that she introduced several welfare measures to eradicate hunger, like Amma Unavagam winning praise from the poor and daily labourers, free 20 kgs of rice for every household, women upliftment programmes such as The Cradle Baby Scheme to stop female foeticide and gender-based abortions, Girl Child Protection Scheme, Thalikku Thangam Thittam which gives gold and family assistance.
On January 6, the Madras High Court had dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the central government to posthumously award the Bharat Ratna to late J Jayalalithaa.
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