“The Bharat Ratna demand for Muthuramalinga Thevar is just an addition to the several awards that the people’s leader has,” said former AIADMK Chief Minister and 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.
Talking to reporters here, he said it was former Chief Minister and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran who declared Thevar Jayanthi as a government action. “The life-size portrait of Tévar was unveiled in the premises of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat during the AIADMK rule,” he added.
Former Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha erected a statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar at Nandanam in Chennai and donated 13.5 kg of gold armor to the Thevar statue at Pasumpon, Mr. Palaniswami recalled.
“Thevar, who spent about 4,000 days in jail for various protests, was elected from Aruppukkotai Lok Sabha constituency and Mudukulathur Assembly constituency. This showed how he was revered and supported by the people,” he said, adding that he donated several acres of land to poor people from various communities.
AIADMK leaders RB Udayakumar, Sellur K. Raju, Dindigul C. Srinivasan and others were present.
Vaiko, Seeman, print address
MDMK founder and leader foundk vaiko and chef coordinator ntk seman paid their respects at Muthuraminga TheVir memorial.
Thevar states Resurretes to Mthuram States and hursday district district districtsords. | Photo credit: ALL
Addressing the press along with Mr. Seeman, Mr. Vaiko said, “On the occasion of Thevar Jayanthi, I appeal to people of all communities to come together and forget all differences.”
As followers of Thevar, everyone should take a pledge to promote peace and uphold the principles of brotherhood and equality to bring about change in society, he added.
Recalling past events, Mr. Vaiko said, “Thevar along with Vaidhyanatha Iyer tried to take Scheduled Caste people to the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. No one dared to stop them after his warning.”
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Seeman said, “Muthuramalinga Thevar, who lived a principled life by denouncing all luxury, is covered in gold ornaments because of election politics.”
Accusing political parties of portraying Thevar in a different way, he said, “By portraying him as a person with all the luxuries, by showering him with gold and silver ornaments, political parties are misrepresenting the perception of the young generation.” Instead of indulging in such things, political parties could set up a trust in the name of Thevar to support local people in their education and marriages, he added.
TNCC President K. Selvaperunthagai, PMK Leader GK MANI, VK SICALALO, DMDK’s V. VIJIJAYA GRABARAN and TVK General Secretary N. Anand and others also paid their respects at the memorial.
There was a brief ruckus after Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam leader Sridhar Vandayar slapped the caretaker of the memorial. As he sat in protest, the police intervened to escort him out of the hall.
With the exception of scattered riots and minor accidents, the event ended peacefully. Senior officials attributed this to prior planning and appropriate deployment of police personnel at key junctions and areas.
More than 8,000 policemen from various parts of the state have been deployed for security across the district and advance instructions have been issued to the public regarding the use of vehicles.
Published – 30 Oct 2025 20:51 IST
