Rich tributes paid to MGR, PM Modi says the Bharat Ratna still lives in people’s hearts

Chennai: Rich tributes were paid to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and ruling AIADMK Founder on M G Ramachandran, popularly called as MGR, the occasion of his 104th birth anniversary in the State on Sunday.

Party Coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Co-oordinator and CM Edappadi K Palaniswami garlanded the statue of MGR and distributed sweets after hoisting the party flag.

They also paid floral tributes to a decorated portrait of the late leader.

Apart from Ministers, MLAs, MPS and party functionaries, scores of party cadres thronged the AIADMK office in the city and paid rich tributes to him.

Mr Panneerselvam and Mr Palaniswami also garlanded the statue of late CM J Jayalalithaa at the party office and paid rich tributes to her.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid rich tributes to MGR and said the Bharat Ratna lives in the hearts of several people.

In a tweet posted both in English and Tamil, Mr Modi said, “Bharat Ratna MGR lives in the hearts of several people. Be it the world of films or politics, he was widely respected.”

“During his CM tenures, he initiated numerous efforts towards poverty alleviation and also emphasised on women empowerment. Tributes to MGR on his Jayanti”, he added.

Meanwhile, in an epistle to the party cadres to mark the occasion, Mr Panneerselvam and Mr Palaniswami said the AIADMK was a ‘movement for social change.’

The ensuing Assembly election will be the battle ground to find an answer on which should prevail--whether a genuine democracy that upholds the participation of all and respects republicanism or a fake democracy that “sacrifices people for power struggle” within a family.

They also urged the AIADMK cadres to remain vigilant so that there would never be any occasion for the revival of the DMK, which was “desperate to unleash the game of violence.”

They also urged them to strive hard to ensure that the party retains power for the third time in a row with a massive win in the elections.

Terming their party as “a movement for social change,” Mr Panneerselvam and Mr Palaniswami said the AIADMK was “not just a political party.”

But, it had always been striving for all to get “equal rights and equal opportunity” to lead their lives happily, they said and recalled various welfare and revolutionary measures launched by MGR, including the nutritious noon meal scheme. (UNI)