Saturday, September 3 2005 11:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (Sept 3, 2005) unveiled statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar at the premises of Kerala Assembly.

Governor R L Bhatia, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Assembly Speaker Therambil Ramakrishnan, Union Minister of state for foreign affairs E Ahmed and former Chief Minister A K Antony were present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister also presented mementos to the legislators who completed 25 years or more of membership in the house.

The Prime Minister said he considered the occasion as a historic one as it was rare to have the statues of the three great leaders of the nation at the same place.

"This is a historic occasion for the country as a whole because I do not think we will find anywhere else the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawharlal Nehru and Babaseaheb Ambedkar all at the same place."

"This building will now become part of our national heritage as these three leaders indeed are three great architects of the Indian nation as we understand it", he said.

Mahatma Gandhi was the architect and commander-in-chief of our freedom struggle and the father of our nation, Balasaheb Ambedkar was the architect of our constitution and Jawaharlal Nehru the architect of modern India, he said.

The Prime Minister said each of the three leaders had left a lasting impression on the fabric of the nation and the edifice of Indian democracy.

In spite of the differences in views and approach among them, these outstanding leaders were united in their outlook to uphold the cause of India, he said.

"By erecting these statues we pay tribute to humanism, modernism and social commitment to Mahatma Gandhi, Jahawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar," he said.

He said Kerala was one of the earliest examples of pluralism and inclusiveness each one of these great patriots had aspired for India.

Describing Kerala as an inspiring example of unity in diversity, Singh said the tradition of tolerance for multi-cultural and multi-religious society, that was seen for long in Kerala, was what the three leaders wanted to establish in the country.

"That every Malayali, irrespective of religion and creed, shares commonon cultural bonds in music, dance, cuisine and language is an inspiring example in unity in diversity," he said.

"It is a culture that should inspire the people of India across the sub-continent and indeed across the world, he said.