Chennai: Muthuvel Karunanidhi, a doyen of Dravidian politics, was Wednesday laid to rest on the Marina beachfront as a sea of humanity bid him a tearful farewell after an unsavoury courtroom battle his party won to secure for him the final resting place at the Chennai landmark.
The country’s high and mighty descended on the city to pay their last respects to the “Thalaivar” (the leader), a school dropout, who left an indelible imprint on the state’s public life over decades through his literary, cinematic and political achievements.
The 94-year-old leader had breathed his last at a hospital here after fighting for life for 11 days. A galaxy of leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy, and his Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh counterparts Pinarayi Vijayan, K Chandrasekhar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu were in attendance.
So were CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, his predecessor Prakash Karat, and former chief ministers of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh Oommen Chandy and Akilesh Yadav. Karunanidhi was buried with full military honours with soldiers giving him a gun salute and buglars sounding the last post.
Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Union minister and the lone BJP Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu Pon Radhakrishnan, Pondicherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad placed wreaths at the feet of the departed leader at the Marina. Karunanidhi’s son and heir apparent MK Stalin received the national flag wrapped around his father’s body. Other family members including the leader’s wife Rajathi Ammal, other sons and daughters showered flower petals at his feet. In poignant scenes, Stalin was seen crying inconsolably after touching his father’s feet before the casket containing Karunanidhi’s body was lowered into the grave. The leader’s youngest daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi fondly caressed his head and cheek one last time.
Karunanidhi being a self-proclaimed atheist and rationalist, no Hindu rituals were performed.
DMK wins Marina battle
Chennai: The famed sands of the Marina Beach will be the final resting place for DMK doyen M Karunanidhi, with the Madras High Court Wednesday ordering the state’s AIADMK government to allow his burial there. A division bench of the court, which resumed the special hearing of the DMK’s plea for a burial space for Karunanidhi at the Marina after adjourning it in the wee hours Wednesday, rejected the state government’s contention that there were legal hurdles in way. “There is no legal impediment for not allotting the place… Provide a place for a decent burial forthwith in terms of the rough sketch given by the petitioner,” the division bench of the court comprising Acting Chief Justice HG Ramesh and SS Sundar ruled.
2 dead, 35 hurt in Chennai stampede
Chhenai: At least two people died and 40 others were injured in a stampede at Chennai’s Rajaji Hall, where the late Karunanidhi’s body has been kept for people to pay homage. The chaos at the location, where a sea of humanity has turned up to say goodbye to Kalaignar, as Karunanidhi was popularly known in Tamil Nadu, also forced police to resort to lathicharge. Clad in the tricolour and encased in a glass coffin, Karunanidhi’s body has been kept at Rajaji Hall where a host of dignitaries, including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have paid or will pay their last respects. The large crowds at Rajaji Hall led to chaotic scenes after people breached barricades, entered the VIP area and even tried jumping over walls. DMK leaders, including Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin, fervently appealed for peace. But ultimately, Karunanidhi’s body had to be moved inside, since the crowd just kept swelling. The chaos led to a stampede as well and police resorted to lathicharge to bring the crowds under control. Two people died and 40 were injured in the stampede.
