CHENNAI: The State government has chosen veteran Congress leader and former TNCC president Kumari Ananthan (88) for the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Award for 2021. Ananthan is the father of Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. M Meenakshi Sundaram (78), who was instrumental in installing a statue of Thiruvalluvar in Bengaluru, has been chosen for the Thiruvalluvar award. These awards carry a prize of Rs 1 lakh each, a gold medal, and a citation. Chief Minister MK Stalin will present these awards soon, an official release here said.
Kumari Ananthan is a senior politician of TN and a close associate of former CM K Kamaraj. He introduced asking questions in Parliament in TN and served as a member of the State Assembly. He is well versed in Tamil literature and has authored many books. Meenakshi Sundaram, who lives in Bengaluru, is a former president of the Bengaluru Tamil Sangam and was instrumental in the unveiling of the statue of Thiruvalluvar in Bengaluru by former CM M Karunanidhi in 2009.