CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday expressed deep sorrow over the death of veteran CPI leader R Nallakannu and announced that his last rites would be conducted with full state honours and a red salute.
Hailing him as a guiding light for society, Stalin said Nallakannu had dedicated his life to the welfare of the working class and that his memory would remain etched forever in the hearts of the people.
Recalling DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s fondness for Nallakannu, Stalin quoted Kalaignar as saying, “Though I do not have proper vision in one eye, I have another in my heart — that is Nallakannu.” He also recalled that Nallakannu shared a close friendship with Kalaignar and stood shoulder to shoulder with him in struggles against repressive laws such as POTA, ESMA and TADA.
Stating that Nallakannu was a great fighter of his times, Stalin said he sacrificed most of his life for the country’s freedom and the welfare of the working class. “No matter how many hardships he faced like prison, torture and a life filled with pain, he stood firm in his ideology. He was a political volcano with the fire of ideology within, yet carried himself with a calm demeanour,” he said.
Stalin said Nallakannu firmly believed that communist and Dravidian ideologies must function as a double-barrelled gun for social transformation and that he welcomed the schemes introduced by the present DMK government.
Recalling his personal association with him, Stalin said Nallakannu always showed warmth and affection. “I made it a practice to meet him every year on his birthday and receive his blessings,” he added.
Further saying that it was a matter of pride to have lived in the same era as Comrade Nallakannu, Stalin said that irrespective of the awards he received, he donated the entire amount to the party and the government for public welfare, describing him as a leader of spotless integrity. “What I said at his centenary celebrations still echoes in my heart today - He never saw himself as separate from the movement; he lived as the movement itself,” Stalin recalled.
Stalin said that while Kalaignar honoured Comrade Nallakannu with the Ambedkar Award, the present “Dravidian model government” conferred on him the Thagaisal Thamizhar Award. He also conveyed his deepest condolences to Nallakannu’s grieving family members, relatives and comrades of the Communist Party of India.