New Delhi, Feb 26: Ignoring Opposition pleas to stay away, President A P J Abdul Kalam today unveiled a portrait of Hindu Mahasabha leader Veer Savarkar in the Central Hall of Parliament at a function boycotted by the entire Opposition barring former prime minister Chandra Shekhar. Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi and a host of Union ministers were present at the function, attended by members of the BJP and its allies including DMK, TDP and Samata.
While deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha Najma Heptullah, who belongs to the Congress, participated in the function, her party colleague and Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed was not present.
As the president unveiled the portrait, the Central Hall was reverberated with chants of "Swatantryaveer Savarkar Amar Rahe" and "Jab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega, Savarkar Tera Naam Rahega" (long live Swatantrayaveer Savarkar).
The unveiling of the portrait had snowballed into a major controversy with opposition parties deciding to boycott the function and also asking the president to stay away from it.
Congress president and Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi had yesterday joined leaders of other Opposition parties and wrote to Kalam not to take part in the function in view of a "serious controversy" in the matter. Bureau Report