CHENNAI: The red flags in Chennai flew at half-mast on Thursday as thousands of communist party cadres and general public paid homage to widely respected CPI leader R Nallakannu at Balan Illam, the party’s state headquarters, where his mortal remains were kept.
Before his body was taken in a long procession from the party office in T Nagar to the Madras Medical College in the afternoon, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin paid a visit for the second time since the demise the leader on Wednesday to pay his last respects.
Raising his fist above the shoulder, Stalin, in the presence of alliance party leaders, raised slogans of “Veera Vanakkam” (Valiant Salute) and “Sevvanakkam” (Red Salute) to Nallakannu, hailing him as “Thagaisal Thamizhar” and a fighter, with all assembled leaders and cadre repeating the slogans.
Thousands of CPI and CPM workers, along with members of DMK-led alliance parties, stood in long lines to see their beloved leader one last time.
From early morning, a never-ending line of people moved slowly toward his casket. Leaders from all political sides, including Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Vaiko, Thirumavalavan, Premalatha Vijayakanth, Selvaperunthgai, Peter Alphonse, D Raja, and Seeman, stood side-by-side to honour him. Several leaders of the CPI party across the country came to pay their tribute. Members from the film world, including Rajinikanth, Vijay, Sathyaraj, Suriya and Sivakarthikeyan, also came to pay their respects.
Commenting on the homage of various non-political personalities, a senior CPI cadre told TNIE, “It didn’t matter what party they belonged to or how famous they were; in front of Nallakannu, everyone felt small because of his great sacrifice.”
Many people, especially women, in the queue broke down in tears as they reached his body, crying out as if they had lost a member of their own family. Another senior party member whispered, “In all these years, the party office has never seen such a huge crowd. It is heartbreaking to think that our comrade, for whom the party was his very life, is not here to see this immense love from the people.”
Many party workers inside the office took a pledge among themselves that they would follow Nallakannu’s path of sacrifice and honesty.
After the government accorded full state honours, the funeral procession commenced from the party office. When the final procession began, the roads on both sides were filled with people. As the decorated vehicle carrying his body moved slowly, people stood with folded hands. Many threw flowers on the vehicle.
His body was donated to the Madras Medical College for research.