Chennai, Dec 10: Speakers at the inaugural function of a foundation today recalled the services of freedom fighter and statesman, the late C Rajagopalachari, popularly called ''Rajaji'', on his 126th birth anniversary.
Inaugurating the Rajaji Foundation, former chief election commissioner J M Lyngdoh highlighted Rajaji''s ability in governance and recalled his efforts in bringing to an end the communal flare-up in West Bengal when he was Governor of that state.
Rajaji, he said, was "the most outstanding statesman, progressive in his social reforms, a writer, witty and humorous".
N Ram, editor-in-chief, ''The Hindu'', said Rajaji was against the "madness of nuclear weaponisation" and wanted initiatives to be taken to promote the cause of nuclear disarmament. Rajaji was also the first person to recognise that the future would be an era of coalition governments, he said.
AICC general secretary and MP Janardhan Dwivedi said it was essential for young politicians to remember great leaders like Rajaji. But he disagreed with Rajaji''s "vision" on coalition politics, saying that may be due to some compulsions. Ultimately, it was the importance of national parties that mattered.
Congress MLA Dr K Jayakumar and the foundation''s trustee, C R Kesavan, spoke.
Scholarships were also distributed to two Scheduled Caste students who performed well in the recent SSLC examination. (Our Correspondent) | 
