Karunanidhi’s wishes are being fulfilled: CM

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday said the welfare schemes of ‘Kalaignar’ (former Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi) will be implemented.

In his message to partymen on Karunanidhi’s third death anniversary, Mr. Stalin said that ‘Kalaignar’ had dreamt of the DMK coming back to power. With the help of the party cadre, his wish was fulfilled three months ago. He also had a wish list of schemes to be implemented during the DMK rule. “We are implementing them now,” he said.

“Kalaignar wished that the party and the government should be run the way he ran it,” said Mr. Stalin, adding that he had been following and fulfilling his father’s wishes which was the greatest tribute that could be paid to him.

He asked partymen to take a pledge that it would be the DMK’s rule in Tamil Nadu hereafter and work for the growth of Tamil, Tamils and Tamil Nadu with Dravidian thought as bedrock. The Chief Minister, along with senior partymen including MP K. Kanimozhi, paid tributes at Karunanidhi’s memorial.

In his letter to Mr. Stalin, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Karunanidhi was one of the key architects of the social revolution that transformed the lives of millions. He had also fought to ensure that India’s federal polity recognised diverse regional aspirations. The foundation he laid continued to inspire people to embrace and preserve their sub-cultures and identities and strive for a truly inclusive nation, he said.

“Today, as we fight against the attempt to impose regressive values, we draw strength from the valiant struggle of your father and the people’s movement he built around a progressive agenda. His legacy will continue to guide us in this journey,” Mr. Gandhi said.

On the occasion, Mr. Stalin distributed welfare measures to beneficiaries at the Secretariat under the ‘Chief Minister in your constituency’ scheme.

He handed over welfare measures to differently abled persons. While six of them received special scooters, two got three-wheelers and one a wheelchair. One person received a sewing machine, two got smartphones, two were given hearing aids and one was granted a battery-operated automatic wheeler chair, an official release said.

Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu and special officer for the scheme Shilpa Prabhakar Satish were present during the event.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, leaders of key Opposition parties congregated at DMK MP Tiruchi Siva’s residence to pay their respects.

From Congress party, former leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, along with senior leaders P. Chidambaram, K.C. Venugopal, Manickam Tagore and Kapil Sibal were present. CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, BJD’s Amar Patnaik, RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha, YSR Congress’s Ayodya Rama Reddy and TDP’s Ravindranath MP were among the other visitors.