Karunanidhi's 98th birth anniversary: BSY says he played important role in creating harmony between two states

New Delhi, Jun 3: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is celebrating the 98th birth anniversary of party founder M Karunanidhi. He died on August 7, 2018. On this special occassion organised by Chennai-based advocate J Ravindran.

In a video message on the latter's 98th birth anniversary, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa said that Karunanidhi was an outstanding chief minister.

Recalling the support extended by Karunanidhi in installing a statue of 12th century saint-poet Sarvajna, Yeddyurappa said Karunanidhi played an important role in creating harmony between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with this gesture.

When the statue of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar was unveiled near Ulsoor, Bengaluru in a similar gesture in 2009, Karunanidhi was also present in Bengaluru.

Yeddyurappa said the event showed there were close bonds between the two states and the people of the states were brothers.

He further said that the unveiling of the two statues was not a mere function but the opening of India's heart and a model in good brotherly relations between states for others to follow.

Popularly known as 'Kalaignar', Muthuvel Karunanidhi was a writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades, between 1969 and 2011.

Karunanidhi contested 12 assembly polls and personally never lost an election. He entered the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly at the age of 33, representing Kulithalai constituency. He was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister five times between 1969-71, 71-76, 89-91, 96-01 and 2006-11.

Karunanidhi displayed his determination when his party could not make a come back to power for well over a decade between 1977-89. During that period, AIADMK founder and his friend turned rival MG Ramachandran was Chief Minister.

Karunanidhi also penned scripts for famous Tamil movies Parasakthi and Manohara dating back to 1950's and his last movie was Ponnar Shankar in 2011.