Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar yesterday laid the foundation stone for building a national memorial of former president A P J Abdul Kalam on his first death anniversary at his burial site Pei Karumbu here.
Parrikar said the construction work would begin soon and the memorial would be built in record time.
Rameswaram is around 600km from Chennai.
Federal Minister for Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting, M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan and other ministers from the Tamil Nadu government also participated in the event.
A bronze life-size statue of Kalam was also unveiled at the venue.
Naidu said the memorial will be similar to a mosque, a temple and a church.
“It is to tell the future generation that such a great person was born in this pious land,” Naidu said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes Kalam and said his death has created an “irreplaceable” void.
“It’s been a year since our beloved Dr A P J Abdul Kalam left us and created a void that is irreplaceable. My tributes to this great personality,” tweeted Modi.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed Kalam a true humanist and “an ardent believer in unleashing India’s true potential.”
Schoolchildren hold masks bearing the image of former president A P J Abdul Kalam during a remembrance event on the first anniversary of his death, in Chennai yesterday.
