Leaders pay homage to freedom fighter at samadhi

Pasumpon, Tamil Nadu, Oct 30 (UNI) Leaders of various political parties paid floral tributes to the late Muthuramalinga Thevar, an icon of the dominant backward Thevar community, at his samadhi here today on the occasion of the late leader's 98th birth anniversary.

The annual ritual at the temple-like samadhi continues to attract leaders of all political shades except Dalits and ultra-left parties, to this non-descript village in backward Ramanathapuram district.

People belonging to the three sub-castes of the Thevar community, - Maravars, Agamudayars and Kallars - thronged the tiny village where various Thevar outfits organised free-meals. Some people tonsured their heads, giving the event a distinct community flavour.

Muthuramalinga Thevar, who joined the Forward Bloc after leaving the Congress early in his political career, was the first to bring Thevars to the forefront as a vote bank. However, the Forward Bloc in Tamil Nadu is reduced to an outfit confined to Usilampatti area in Madurai and a few Thevar pockets.

Ruling DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Local Administration Minister M K Stalin, accompanied by seven of his Ministerial colleagues besides Union Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam, offered floral tributes at the samadhi.

Leaders of political parties paid their respects at the allotted time slot.

On behalf of the AIADMK, party strongman T T V Dinakkaran led the functionaries while former Union Minister S Thirunavukkarasar and L Ganesan of the BJP and Vaiko of the MDMK represented their respective parties. Actor-politician Vijayakanth of the DMDK was among those who visited the samadhi.

Violence during the previous anniversary celebrations, with a fall out in other areas in the southern districts, prompted the police to put in place elaborate security arrangements. Over 3000 police personnel had been deployed in the area to ensure peaceful conduct of the annual process, a senior police official said.

According to a political observer, violence involving the people returning from Pasumpon on vehicles, had drastically come down following the rise of Dalit assertion in southern Tamil Nadu. This year, the event was incident-free and passed off peacefully.

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