BENGALURU: Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said Bharat Ratna-awardee Sir M Visvesvaraya may have applauded the ‘grandiose plan’ for the interlinking of rivers, which the Congress leader called an ‘engineer’s delight’. Speaking at the M Visvesvaraya Memorial Lecture at the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) here, Ramesh said the project also enjoys tremendous political support, particularly in the present dispensation in New Delhi. He, however, also mentioned its possible ecological impact.
Crediting Sir MV for his contribution, the MP said the location of companies such as the HMT, ITI and BEL in Bengaluru in the 1950s was to a large extent because of an ecosystem created by Visvesvaraya. He also spoke of the strong bond between Visvesvaraya and former PM Jawarharlal Nehru.
On the need to develop a scientific temper, Ramesh said, “For Visvesvaraya, science was a passion, for Nehru, an obsession. It could be argued that Nehru provided the far-sighted political leadership that put into practice the vision that Visvesvaraya had articulated in his books,” he added.
Calling Sir MV a perfect model of intellectual integrity and financial probity, Ramesh said India would gain if we were to follow his example.