CHENNAI: The AIADMK general council on Thursday decided to take steps for their late leader J Jayalalithaa to be accorded the Magsaysay award and Nobel Peace Prize, and urged the Centre to declare her birthday as National Farmers’ Day. It also reiterated the recent demands of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet — Bharat Ratna for Jayalalithaa and unveiling her statue at the Parliament complex.
One of the resolutions cited the pro-poor schemes implemented by the governments headed by Jayalalithaa and said the general council would take steps required to accord the Ramon Magsaysay award to her.
Another resolution recalled Jayalalithaa’s speech during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll campaign on farmers’ welfare. She made her speech on the lines of ‘I have a dream’ of Martin Luther King Jr. The Farmers’ Security Scheme implemented by her government and her dreams for uplifting farmers on a par with those in Japan and Germany, are enough to honour her birthday as National Farmers Day, it said.
Another resolution recalled the services of AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran and his successor J Jayalalithaa. “The general council decides to observe the centenary year of MGR as a Year of People’s Service,” it added.
In all, the general council adopted 14 resolutions, most of them hailing the sacrifices made by Jayalalithaa and her concern for the poor, courage, untiring work, etc. A separate resolution was adopted condoling the death of 597 persons following the hospitalisation and death of Jayalalithaa. The death of 106 party functionaries during the past months due to accidents and other reasons was also condoled.
The deaths of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, former Singapore President SR Nathan, former ISRO chief MGK Menon, Thuglak editor Cho S Ramaswamy, and Carnatic musician M Balamurali Krishna, among others, were also condoled.