CHENNAI: A freedom fighter who waited for India’s freedom eventually saw it happen but his 14-hour wait for Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi proved in vain.
C Harikrishnan (92) of Vettavalam in Thiruvannamalai district spent six months in prison in 1942 for participating in the Quit India movement. He was in Chennai to meet Rahul and ask him to get the necessary permission from authorities to open a Kamaraj statue in his home town.
However, he was not allowed inside TNCC headquarters at Satyamurthi Bhavan, as he did not have a ‘pass.’ Very patiently, Harikrishnan sat on the road close to the entrance of the Satyamurthi Bhavan pleading with officials to let him in.
“Do you think that I need a pass to meet Rahul? I have all the documents to prove my identity and I am a genuine freedom fighter,” he said naively.
Harikrishnan said he had built a six-foot statue for the late Congress leader Kamaraj six years ago. But authorities are yet to give him permission to open the statue. “I have met all top officials including minister Suresh Rajan. But to this day the permission is yet to come,” he said.
The purpose of the Chennai visit was to give Rahul a memorandum to help him errect the statue. He left only by 10 pm, when he realised that there was no chance of meeting Rahul.