CHENNAI: Dravidar Kazhgam (DK), which has been a staunch critic of matinee idol-turned-Chief Minister M G Ramachandran throughout his political career, began his birth centenary celebrations.
The DK headquarters, Periyar Thidal, usually filled with black shirts, housed a mixed and more colourful audience on Monday as several fans and followers of MGR had come to this venue for the time, curious to know what their leader’s critics have got to say about him at the celebrations.
Striking the right chord, DK leader K Veeramani stressed the need for celebrating MGR despite criticising him when he was the Chief Minister. “Though we had differences of opinion on several issues, MGR’s politics had its roots in the Dravidian ideology,” he said.
Calling attention to the famous decision by MGR to increase reservation from 31% to 50% in 1980, Veeramani said this earned him the title ‘philanthropic leader’ and not the money he gave away. He also emphasised the need to begin the celebrations months before his birthday (January 17) so that outsiders didn’t start taking credits for his success.