EPS, OPS pay homage to freedom fighter Muthuramalinga
RAMANATHAPURAM/MADURAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam paid homage to freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar on the occasion of his 112th birth anniversary and 57th guru puja at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, they had also paid floral tributes to the life-size statue of Thevar, decorated with electric lamps, at Goripalayam in Madurai.
Addressing the media persons in Pasumpon, Palaniswami said that it was late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran who took the decision to mark the birth anniversary of Thevar as a State function. “Since 1979, Thevar Jayanthi is being observed, and AIADMK has been paying tributes to him. Later, J Jayalalithaa had unveiled a statue of Thevar in Nanthanam in Chennai. She had also offered a 13 kg golden armour to Thevar on behalf of the party,” he said.
Further, the Chief Minister said that Muthuramalinga Thevar had contested and won many elections - Madras Presidency Legislative Assembly election in 1937 and 46 and Madras Legislative Assembly election in 1952, 57 and 62. “For Thevar, both nationalism and spiritualism were like his own eyes,” he added.
Ministers including C Vijayabaskar, RB Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju and Bhaskaran, MP Raveendranath were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, in Goripalayam in Madurai, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister apart, DMK President MK Stalin and other political party leaders garlanded his statue and offered floral tributes.
While Palaniswami and Pannerselvam garlanded the statue around 8 am, Stalin along with former minister I Periyasamy and Muthuramalingam paid homage around 9 am. MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinkaran, BJP leaders H Raja, Pon Radhakrishnan and other political leaders along with more than 1,000 people also garlanded the statue and paid floral tributes.