Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Legislative members, Parliament members, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, and various party leaders, including BJP, participated in the event. The opposition party, AIADMK, boycotted the centenary celebrations.
President Ram Nath Kovind presided over the 100th year of the Madras Legislative Council and unveiled the portrait of five-time former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi at St Fort George in Chennai.
Addressing the gathering, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said he is proud that in the coming years this day would be etched in golden letters. Stalin heaped praises on the President, saying that he kept social justice as his life goal. In his address, he said the legislature has introduced ‘novel, pioneering schemes and enabled an egalitarian society such as ensuring rights for women in poverty, among others
Further, Stalin noted that the assembly has a special status in passing some historical legislation. He said it was in this assembly Madras Presidency was renamed Tamil Nadu when CN Annadurai was the chief minister. He added that the historic two-language policy was also established in this great place.
Stalin highlighted that Kalaignar had served as the chief minister, Opposition leader, MLA and held various positions and received laurels. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit also praised Kalaignar, stating that he had won the hearts of the poor and the downtrodden. “He was a versatile leader, who mesmerised the masses with oratory. For a person to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu five times and to win every election in his political career is indeed a remarkable achievement,” Purohit claimed.
Purohit noted that people held Kalaignar in high esteem for his vast knowledge in various fields. “He was rightly called as the people’s chief minister,” he said.
President Ram Nath Kovind, who began his speech in Tamil, said he feels happy to unveil the portrait of Kalaignar, who holds a place in the history of India. “It is indeed a momentous day, we are commemorating the centenary of the Madras Legislative Council as it was known then. August is an auspicious month in our national calendar as it marks the anniversary of our Independence Day too. In these years, the nation had made great progress on several fronts and it was made possible by the joint work of people and leaders,” he said.
The President elaborated that the history of the Madras Legislative Council dates back to 1861. An advisory body set up back then bloomed into a law-making assembly in 1921. “Under colonial rule, there were, of course, many limitations and challenges on the functioning of such a body. Also, there were numerous separate constituencies based on caste, community and other parameters. Still, even if partial, it was a move towards a responsible government. Democracy, in its modern form, was returning to the land where it was practised centuries ago,” the President added.
He said the legislative council has made many forward-looking legislations. “It would not be wrong to say that this legislature became the fountainhead of many progressive legislations, which were subsequently replicated across the country to empower the weaker sections of the society and strengthen our democracy,” Kovind added.
“The Madras legislature has flown seeds of a fully representative democratic form of governance, which were realised after Independence. This legislature can rightly be credited with nurturing the roots of democracy by focusing on governance to uplift the poor and purge social evils,” he said.
President said the politics and governance in the region evolved around positive and rational content that was meant for the welfare of those living on the margins. He noted that widow remarriage, abolition of the devadasi system and mid-day meals in schools were some of the revolutionary ideas that transformed society.
Kovind said Tamil poet Subramaniya Bharathiyar had summed up the progressive thinking of the people of Tamil Nadu. He said the assembly already has portraits of the state’s greatest heroes, and now, the hall of fame will have Karunanidhi, whose entire life was devoted to the people’s cause.
Further, he praised the Dravidian patriarch by saying that his political life started in the early teenage years when India was fighting for freedom. When he breathed his last, he would have been satisfied that his land and the people have made progress and developed on all fronts, Kovind said.
“For him mother-tongue was the object of worship. Tamil, of course is one of the greatest and oldest languages of humankind. But it was Karunanidhi who ensured that it was granted official recognition as a classical language. Kalaignar was a leader in a class of his own. He was among the last links we had with the stalwarts of our national moment,” he said.
Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Legislative members, Parliament members, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, and various party leaders, including BJP, participated in the event. The opposition party, AIADMK, boycotted the centenary celebrations.
Source: Read Full Article