TIRUCHY: Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Friday evening paid floral tributes to Perumpidugu Mutharaiyar on the occasion of his 1,350th birth anniversary at Othakadai.
The day saw visits by political leaders from across the spectrum, each making their own pitch to the influential Mutharaiyar community in central Tamil Nadu. The emperor is hailed by the Mutharaiyars, who are listed under the Most Backward Classes, as their cultural icon.
Earlier in the day, ministers K.N. Nehru, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Siva V. Meyyanathan, and MLAs Stalin Kumar, M. Palaniyandi, and S. Kathiravan also garlanded Mutharaiyar’s statue. Talking to reporters, Poyyamozhi said, “Mutharaiyar is not a leader of a single community but an icon for all Tamils.”
At the Manimandapam near Tiruchy Central Bus Stand, Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, Union Minister of State L. Murugan, BJP state chief Nainar Nagenthran, and AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran offered tributes.
Former AIADMK ministers Natham Viswanathan, Valarmathi, and ex-Rajya Sabha member Rathinavelu paid homage. “From M.G. Ramachandran to Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the Mutharaiyar community has been honoured under the AIADMK rule. Even the Manimandapam, which CM M.K. Stalin inaugurated, was conceived during Palaniswami’s tenure,” Viswanathan told reporters.
NTK chief Seeman also paid floral tributes to the statue at Othakadai.