Tribute

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on 27 October released commemorative coins of five and hundred rupee denominations to mark the birth centenary celebrations of the late Congress leader, K. Kamaraj, whom he hailed as "karamveera."

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, releasing first set of commemorative coins in memory of Bharat Ratna K. Kamaraj at a function in New Delhi on 27 October. The Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, and the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, are also present.

After formally releasing the coins _ the five-rupee coin for mass circulation and hundred

rupee ones for collectors _ at a function, at the Vigyan Bhavan, Dr. Singh presented the first set to the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Former presidents Shri R. Venkataraman and Shri K.R. Narayanan, the Lok Sabha Speaker, Shri Somnath Chatterjee, the Union Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil and many Union Ministers and Members of Parliament attended the function.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singh recalled the sacrifice and service of Kamaraj, who abjured the lure of power _ an ideal that had been rediscovered and re-established by Smt. Sonia Gandhi (by not accepting Prime Ministership).

Hailing Kamaraj as a "pragmatic and effective administrator," he said his administration of the then Madras State was based on the simple advice _ "face the problem, don't evade it. Find a solution, however, small. People will be satisfied if you do something." Noting that this holds good even today, Dr. Singh said the real tribute to the leader would be if his followers and others followed the values he espoused in public life.

"Simplicity and humility characterized Kamaraj … He spoke, walked, ate and dressed the way the common people did. He overcame his initial handicap of the lack of formal education to acquire felicity in English and knowledge of both national and world affairs," the Prime Minister said, adding that he was correctly described as "a common man's man with uncommon common sense."

Noticing a decline in vigour in the Congress, Kamaraj resigned as Chief Minister of the Madras state in 1963 after three consecutive terms to take up party work, Dr. Singh said. He advocated the "Kamaraj Plan" for all senior Congress leaders to resign their posts and devote their energy to revitalize the party.

CORE GROUP ON PANCHAYAT RAJ NEW DELHI: The Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 18 October has constituted a core group to coordinate the activities of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sangathan as announced by her in the last AICC meeting on August 21, 2004. This group will be treated as one of the depart-ments of the AICC. The composition of the core group is as follows: 1. Shri Digvijay Singh, general secretary, AICC; 2. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar; 3. Shri D.P. Yadav; 4. Smt. Shantaben Chavda; 5. Shri Rajendra Singh; 6. Dr. Aliya Zuberi and 7. Shri B.K. Chandrasekhar _ Convenor. This was announced by AICC general secretary, Shri Janardan Dwivedi.

CONGRESS WINS COUNCIL SEAT BANGALORE: The Congress bagged one seat in the byelections tox the Legislative Council held here on 31 October. Qazi Arshad Ali of the Congress with 135 votes, defeated Basavaraj Ingin of the Janata Dal (United), who got 83 votes. Addressing mediapersons, Shri Ali said he would work for the welfare of the people of Bidar district. He was grateful to the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi; Chief Minister, Shri N. Dharam Singh; and the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Shri B. Janardhana Poojary, for fielding him as the party candidate.