RAMANATHAPURAM: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and various political leaders, including Opposition leader M K Stalin, paid tribute to Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram to mark the 55th Guru Puja and 110th birth anniversary of the late leader on Monday.
After paying tribute to a statue of Thevar at Goripalayam in Madurai, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, accompanied by State ministers Sellur K Raju, Manikandan, RB Udhayakumar, Dindigul Srinivasan, Kamaraj, OS Manian, C Vijaya Baskar, Baskaran; and MPs Anwar Raja and Senthilnathan reached Pasumpon.
Leader of the Opposition and DMK working president M K Stalin said that the State government needed to prevail upon the Central government to get the Madurai International Airport named after Muthuramalinga Thevar, a demand that was backed by TNCC president Su Thirunavukkarasar as well. He promised to strive for this when his party came to power. Meanwhile, Stalin took a jibe at the State government, alleging that it was acting as a real estate agent of the Central government in the Adani Group issue.
The Leader of the Opposition said that if the issue was not sorted out properly, his party would launch an agitation in Ramanathapuram district.
Addressing a gathering, sidelined AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran said that Palaniswami faction posed many hurdles in his attempt to get possession of the golden armour of Muthuramalinga Thevar. “Though our faction submitted a valid letter to the Bank of India, where the golden armour is kept, Palaniswami faction created troubles to keep it from our hands. Our faction would emerge victorious in the fight for the party symbol and control and we would mark the Thevar Jayanthi in a grand manner next year,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tamil Maanila Congress president G K Vasan called for stringent implementation of the Tamil Nadu Exorbitant Interest Act to protect gullible from loan sharks and usurers. Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan used the occasion to showcase the BJP’s achievements at the Centre and said that the NDA government was following the path laid down by Muthuramalinga Thevar. He also said that efforts were on to ensure that the Prime Minister visited the memorial.
PMK president G K Mani called for a separate reservation for the Mukulathoor community and also for other deserving communities. MDMK general secretary Vaiko was sanguine about the future prospects of the State as he believed the youth were coming out to bear the mantle of their responsibilities. Mukkulathor Pulipadai leader S Karunas, Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam leader GM Sridhar Vandayar and other leaders also paid tribute to Muthuramalinga Thevar in Pasumpon.