Kalam’s grand nephew quits BJP

APJ Abdul Kalam’s nephew Haja Syed Ibrahim has quit the ruling BJP, reportedly because he is upset that the government had allotted the former president’s bungalow to a minister instead of making it a memorial.

Salim had earlier too appealed the BJP leadership to convert the house of Kalam in the national capital into a memorial of “People’s President”, the nickname which the late leader earned due to his unprecedented popularity. The No 10 Rajaji Marg bungalow in Delhi, occupied by Kalam till his death in July, has been allotted to Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, a move which had drawn flak from various quarters.

One of the grand-nephews of the former President, A.P.J.

Defending the allotment of Kalam’s bungalow to Sharma, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had said the allocation was made as per “rules and procedures” of the government.

Kalam’s family wanted that the 5,000-odd books that Kalam had collected should be kept in Delhi.

Salim had joined BJP in September, weeks after the demise of his grand-uncle.

P. Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, said he was not aware of the resignation and added that he had never met Ibrahim.

He has now walked out, saying that the BJP had “failed to fulfill the overall demand of the people of India”.

Former president and scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s family had also written a letter to the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi, asking them to use Kalam’s library as a knowledge center.

I would be continuing my public services that I have been doing silently together with the friends whom Dr APJ Abdul Kalam pointed to me in private.