AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami paying floral tributes to Muthuramalinga Thevar statue at his memorial in Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: L. Balachandar
“The demand for Bharat Ratna for Muthuramalinga Thevar is just an addition to the several appreciations and accolades the people’s leader holds,” said former former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
He paid floral tributes to the statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district on the 118th Thevar Jayanthi and 63rd Guru Puja on Thursday.
Speaking to journalists here, he said it was former Chief Minister and AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran who declared Thevar Jayanthi a government event. “A life-size portrait of Thevar was unveiled on Tamil Nadu secretariat premises during the AIADMK government,” he added.
Former Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha erected a statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar at Nandanam in Chennai and donated a 13.5-kg golden armour to the Thevar statue at Pasumpon, Mr. Palaniswami recalled.
“Thevar, who spent about 4,000 days in prisons for various protests, was elected from Aruppukkotai Lok Sabha constituency and Mudukulathur Assembly constituency. This displayed how he was revered and supported by the people,” he said, adding he gave several acres of land to poor people of various communities.
AIADMK leaders R.B. Udayakumar, Sellur K. Raju, Dindigul C. Srinivasan, and others were present.
Vaiko, Seeman address press
MDMK founder and leader Vaiko and NTK chief coordinator Seeman paid their respects at Muthuramalinga Thevar memorial.
Addressing the press along with Mr. Seeman, Mr. Vaiko, said, “On the occasion of Thevar Jayanthi, I call upon the people of all communities to come together forgetting all differences.”
As followers of Thevar, everyone should take a vow to promote peace and uphold the principles of brotherhood and equality to bring about a change in society, he added.
Recalling past events, Mr. Vaiko, said, “Thevar, along with Vaidhyanatha Iyer, took efforts to take Scheduled Caste people inside Madurai Meenakshi temple. After his warning, no one dared to stop them.”
Mr. Seeman, speaking to journalists, said, “Muthuramalinga Thevar who lived a principled life by denouncing all the luxuries is being covered with gold ornaments for vote politics.”
Charging at the political parties for displaying Thevar in a different way, he said, “By portraying him as a person with all the luxuries, by gifting him gold and silver ornaments, political parties are misleading the perception of younger generation.” Instead of getting into such things, political parties could start a trust in the name of Thevar to support the local people in their education and marriages, he added.
TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai, PMK leader G.K. Mani, V.K. Sasikala, DMDK’s V. Vijaya Prabhakaran, and TVK general secretary N. Anand and others also paid their respect at the memorial.
After Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam leader Sridhar Vandayar slapped a memorial administrator, a brief commotion ensued. As he sat in protest, police intervened to remove him from the hall.
Barring scattered incidents of commotion and minor accidents, the event ended peacefully. Senior officials attributed this to prior planning and appropriate deployment of police personnel at a key junctions and areas.
More than 8,000 police personnel, drawn from various parts of the State, were deployed for security across the district and prior instructions were issued to the public regarding usage of vehicles.
Published – October 30, 2025 08:51 pm IST
