PUDUCHERRY: In a deviation from past practice, Puducherry Chief Minister and All India NR Congress founder President N Rangasamy has decided to go out of station to celebrate his birthday when he turns 71 on August 4. “The Chief Minister will be visiting temples outside Puducherry on his birthday,” said a release from the party's state secretary N S J Jayabal. This is in order to prevent a large number of people flocking to greet him on the occasion, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rangasamy’s birthday celebrations have been a festive occasion, specially organised and celebrated all over the Union territory in the past years. Not only are the streets lined with banners of him in various poses and avatars by his supporters wishing him on the occasion, but well-known persons, partymen, officials as well as members of the public also make a beeline to his residence in Thilaspet and greet him personally. Barricades are erected specially for the occasion and a special team regulates the crowd. This goes on daylong and no one is denied a chance to greet him, as he patiently accepts their greetings. It has been the scenario in the past two decades, more so during his 12 years as Chief Minister.
This time, however, to avoid such a scenario, the Chief Minister has decided to go out of town, without revealing which temple or temples he would be visiting, lest people follow him there.
Already, a large number of banners have come up all over Puducherry and an arch in front of the District Collectorate, a few metres away from his house, is being erected by supporters. The municipality, as in previous years, has turned a blind eye to the violation. Chief Minister Rangasamy himself also likes to see banners projecting him in various avatars. This year in most of the banners he is seen donning boxing gloves a la Kabilan style from the movie Sarpatta Parambarai to deliver a knockout punch (to his political opponents), while other banners have projected the humane side of him distributing doles to the poor and needy.