Chennai: Independence Day celebrations in the DMK party office are usually a low-key event. To mark the 73rd I-Day celebrations, the party's organising secretary R.S. Bharathi, who is also Rajya Sabha MP, hoisted the national tricolour at 'Anna Arivalayam' here on Thursday.
The DMK president M K Stalin, in a tweet, greeted the people on the occasion of Independence Day, in which he also recalled the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters. "Let us take a pledge to protect freedom of expression, human rights, the rights of States and democratic rights for which they fought for," he said.
However, it was the former MLA, Thanga Thamizhselvan, who had an I-Day gift to his leader, M K Stalin when he handed over the filled membership forms of as many as 27,200 persons who have joined the DMK from Theni district in the South. Thanga Tamizhselvan himself had recently joined the DMK from the AMMK led by T T V Dhinkakaran who had broken away from the AIADMK.
The enrolling of a fairly large number of persons into the DMK from Theni district, the home turf of the Deputy Chief Minister, and AIADMK coordinator, O. Panneerselvam and the latter's recently elected MP, O. P. Raveendranath Kumar, is politically significant for just that one reason.
The DMK's principal secretary and MP T R Baalu, party's Tiruchy south district unit secretary and former minister K N Nehru, former minister from Tiruvannamalai, A V Velu, Kamban Veerapandi and lawyer Mr. Mani, were among those present when Mr. Tamizhselvan handed over the forms of the newly enrolled members.
To help promote fraternal feelings, Ms. C. Madhubala from the Marwari community tied a 'rakhee' to Mr Stalin at the party headquarters on the occasion of 'Raksha Bandhan'.
