Chief Minister and DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday pulled up party cadre for overzealously filling Coimbatore city with party flags and banners ahead of the World Classical Tamil Conference. “The conference should not be made a party affair,” he warned.
In a statement, Mr. Karunanidhi expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for the meet to be held from June 23-27 but said he was disturbed to note the presence of a large number of party flags and festoons bearing pictures of DMK leaders on all roads leading from Coimbatore airport to V.O.C Grounds and in many other parts of the city. “I was informed that M.K. Stalin, who visited the city a day earlier, also observed it and reprimanded partymen.”
Stating categorically that the World Classical Tamil Conference was being organised by the Tamil Nadu government in an apolitical manner for the development of Tamil language and Tamils, Mr. Karunanidhi said: “I am very focussed that not even an iota of suspicion should arise that it is a party affair. But I am surprised to see the Coimbatore district leaders are yet to understand my intentions.”
Mr. Karunanidhi advised his partymen to replace party flags and banners with placards carrying the conference symbol, banners portraying scenes from Sangam literature, portraits of Tamil kings and poets aesthetically without causing any hindrance to the public, to please the lakhs of residents and visiting scholars and to showcase the history and Tamil language and culture.
