MK Stalin heaps praise on patriarch
He assumed charge as the first president of the DMK on July 27, 1969 and has been holding the post since then.
Chennai: Former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has a unique distinction of being DMK’s president for half-a-century. The 94-year-old has been the undisputed ‘monarch’ of the Dravidian major, perhaps the longest serving chief of any political party.
He assumed charge as the first president of the DMK on July 27, 1969 and has been holding the post since then. As the veteran politician enters the 50th year as party president on Friday, the DMK has asked its cadres to celebrate the milestone in a grand manner.
“Let us celebrate the golden jubilee of our leader assuming office as party chief,” his son and DMK working president M. K. Stalin has said in a letter to the party workers on Thursday. “Our beloved” leader shouldered the responsibility of heading the party as its president on July 27, 1969 after the passing away of DMK founder leader C. N. Annadurai, he added.
Hailing Mr Karunanidhi for his ‘tireless’ work in steering the party for half a century, Mr Stalin listed the welfare initiatives launched by his father during his five terms as Chief Minister.
“He worked without any respite all his life.. time has given some rest,” he said apparently referring to his frail health condition. The party is confident that ‘time and medical science,’ would fulfill the party workers’ yearning to hear his ‘magnetic’ voice again, he said.
Stating that Mr Karunanidhi had led the party through turbulent years, Mr. Stalin called upon the cadres to strive hard and bring the DMK back to power in Tamil Nadu as a tribute to the first party president. “The party has faced several hurdles.
It saw a Himalayan victory in the 1971 assembly election when the party won 184 seats, a record till now. But it has also seen reverses in elections,” he said. Karunanidhi had been able to keep the party intact for 13 years when the DMK had not been in power between 1977 and 1989. Soon after coming to power in 1989, “Thalaivar” (Karunanidhi) introduced several new schemes and brought in 20 per cent reservation within backward class, he added. DMK will celebrate the event by distributing sweets and giving away welfare assistance.