Kejriwal inaugurates a memorial of Kalam

The Delhi government did what the "Centre did not", Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today while inaugurating a memorial of former President APJ Abdul Kalam here, promising to further develop it into a "knowledge centre".
The memorial, that has been built inside the premises of Delhi Haat, houses photographs and belongings such as books of Kalam, who was also known as the 'Missile Man'. Kalam had passed away on July 27 last year following a cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture in IIM-Shillong.
An online petition started by senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh played a pivotal role behind the formation of the 'Kalam Memorial'.

"This memorial will inspire millions and the next generation. He was a President of the masses. Few months ago I came to know that the Centre is not building the memorial, then the Delhi government decided to build it.
"However, there was an apprehension regarding what form and shape it would take. We will make it bigger. We are planning to convert it into a research centre," Kejriwal said.
The petition of Singh, that was hosted by the portal Change.Org, had garnered around 33,000 signatures. It was launched on October 27, after Kalam's 10 Rajaji Marg residence was alloted to Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma.

"I came to know on October that the residence was being vacated. His ancestral place does not have that much space to be made into memorial. So I started an online petition on October 27. I am yet to receive any response from the Centre but the Delhi govt had promptly responded. I have also urged that it be converted into a Knowledge Centre," Singh said.

During the event, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also took a swipe at the BJP-led Centre saying while the AAP believed in Kalam's vision, there are sections whose "culture is culture is hatred, divide and rule."

Kejriwal said that Kalam was "truly the President of the
Aam Aadmi and we will ensure that we live by his ideals."
Sisodia also said that the AAP government will spread Kalam's ideas and principles among school children in the national capital. Kalam was someone who held the Geeta and Quran simultaneously with science on his lips, he said.
"When I had gone to meet him for the first time after I became minister, he seemed disappointed. He said many education ministers come to meet him but no one walks the talk. We will spread his vision through schools in Delhi," Sisodia said.

Family members of the late President, who were present on the occasion, said they had also requested the Centre in this regard. But we are thankful to the Delhi government for setting up the memorial, they said.
"People strongly believed that Dr Kalam's books and belongings would be most useful for students, academics and his followers, if they were well preserved in Delhi.
"Despite repeated requests from family members and various other sections of the society including a 30,000+ Change.Org petition to build a Kalam memorial in Delhi, the Central Government evacuated Dr. Kalam's house," an official statement said.
Delhi Culture Minister Kapil Mishra, whose department executed the project, said it was a dream come true for him. The AAP Cabinet had passed the proposal to build the memorial in "two minutes", he said.

He said that requests have been made to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to share belongings of Kalam if it has any. "We are planning to have a 3D hologram in the coming days, which will have the provision of visual representation.