Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Oct 30 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin paid floral tributes to freedom fighter and iconic leader Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial in Pasumpon near here on Wednesday.
Governor R N Ravi, former Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, and a host of political party leaders, too, paid their tributes on the 117th birth anniversary and Guru puja of Muthuramalinga Thevar.
Earlier, upon his arrival to the Temple City, the Chief Minister, accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues and DMK party members garlanded a huge statue of the freedom fighter at Goripalayam junction here.
Stalin recalled the words of late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and said, "Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar was born brave and he lived bravely. Even after his demise, he is portrayed as a symbol of bravery."
The Governor said, "The grateful nation remembers with profound sense of reverence and pays deepest respect to Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on his anniversary."
Muthuramalinga Thevar was a great Indian nationalist who dedicated his entire life to the freedom of India from colonial rule and after independence in building a harmonious nation by fighting for the rights of the downtrodden and marginalised sections of the society, Ravi said in a post on the social media platform X.
"A close associate of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar galavanised the national freedom movement in Tamil Nadu and inspired over five thousand youths from Tamil Nadu to join the Azad Hind Fauj- the Indian National Army under Netaji’s leadership to valiantly fight against the British for India’s independence," he said.
Ravi further said that the nation paid heartfelt homage to this great national hero whose strong nationalistic spirit would continue to inspire us to build a #ViksitBharat by 2047.
Tamilisai Soundararajan, who garlanded his statue in Chennai said, "he (Muthuramalinga Thevar) said 'spirituality and nationality are my two eyes.' So, he was a spiritual leader who took forward the political movement very forcibly, and had won the elections when he was in prison."
Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said after paying floral tributes to the leader at his memorial in Pasumpon "firmly rooted in the principles of nationalism and anti-imperialism, he (Muthuramalinga Thevar) played a major role in the Indian freedom struggle, worked tirelessly for the welfare of the people and earned the people's respect."
Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, AMMK party chief T T V Dhinakaran, V K Sasikala, and NTK party chief coordinator Seeman, were among the leaders who paid their homage.