Chennai: “Tamil Nadu government should immediately give permission to open the statue of actor Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan in Balakarai area of Trichy. If there is any delay, I will open the statue in front of his fans on October 1, his birthday,” Nam Tamilar Party chief coordinator Seeman said.
In this regard, he issued a statement: “The Tamil Nadu government’s refusal to allow the opening of the statue of actor Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan in the heart of Trichy is strongly condemned. It is a tragedy for the Tamil nation that the statue of the great Tamil artist, who was a leading university in acting, cannot be opened in Tamil Nadu.
Despite several attempts by the fans of actor Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan in the Balakarai area of Trichy in the year 2011, permission was not granted during the decade-long AIADMK rule. One and a half years after the change of government, the DMK government’s refusal to open the statue, like the previous AIADMK government, has caused great heartache not only to his fans all over the world, but also to all the Tamil people.
The denial of permission to open the statue after several appeals from the rulers to the government officials on behalf of the fans and leading various protests is nothing but a vandalism to his mangab’s fame. Foreign countries including England also open statues and honor Hindi film actors. Even in Tamil Nadu, when the statues of foreign actors and actresses have been set up, after allowing all of them, the Tamil Nadu government delaying the opening of the statue of its native son is a great disrespect to the late great artist.
Therefore, the Government of Tamil Nadu should immediately give permission to inaugurate the statue of Thilakam Sivaji Ganesan, the incomparable screen artist of this century, at Balakarai area of Trichy. If there is further delay, I will unveil the statue in front of actor Thilak on October 1, his birthday in the presence of his fans,” it said.