Chennai: Considering that the freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar is the icon of dominant Thevar community, the leaders of all political parties made a beeline to his statue across the State to pay respects on his 111th birth anniversary and 56th guru puja.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam and DMK chief M. K. Stalin were among those who paid their respects at his Samadhi in the Thevar heartland – Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district on Tuesday.
Garlanding the Thevar statue at Goripalayam (in Madurai), the chief minister said, “we will overcome all hurdles. We will defeat our enemies with the help of the people.”
Mr Palaniswami was accompanied by Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao, Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena. They paid homage by placing a wreath at the memorial. Upon his arrival from Madurai, the Chief Minister was accorded a rousing reception by Minister M. Manikandan and AIADMK district secretary M. A. Muniasamy.
Paying rich tributes to the leader Mr. Stalin said “just as (freedom fighter) Nethaji Subhash Chandra Bose is glorified in Bengal as their pride, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar is the pride of Tamil Nadu. Muthuramalinga Thevar’s spirit of nationalism, social commitment, social justice, and his concern for the people is well known.” Former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had helped to establish a memorial for the iconic leader in Pasumpon, his birth place, and also a huge statue at Goripalayam. Kalaignar had even named several educational institutions after the leader, he said.
“And in Chennai, the DMK chief had converted Muthuramalinga Thevar’s house into a memorial and also ensured a section of Mukkulathor was included in the BC category,” Mr. Stalin said and added “the DMK has taken a vow to follow the footsteps of Muthuramalinga Thevar, especially his lofty goals and ideology that he had elucidated in his lifetime.”
Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan and BJP national secretary H. Raja too paid their respects to the statue, followed by MDMK chief Vaiko. All India Forward Bloc leader P. V. Kathiravan and All India Moovendar Munnani Kazhagam founder S. Sethuraman too paid their tributes. AMMK leader T. T. V. Dhinakaran also paid floral tributes to the Thevar statue at Goripalayam.
The district police made elaborate security arrangements for the event which attracted several thousands of people. About 8,000 police personnel, including 6,500 drawn from other districts, provided security and manned 18 check posts at the district borders to ensure no untoward incident occurred.
