As dawn broke, people began filing in to Rajaji Hall, where the body of former Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M. Karunanidhi lay in state. Police had erected barricades along Anna Salai, Walajah Road and Sivananda Salai to guide party cadre and supporters. Commando forces from the Central paramilitary forces and the Tamil Nadu Special Police were deployed. Mr. Karunanidhi’s body, draped in the Tricolour, was placed on top of the stairs of the hall. Family members, including his wife Rajathi Ammal, children M.K. Stalin, M.K. Tamilarasu, M.K. Alagiri, Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi and Selvi, grandnephew and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran stood around the coffin. Party MLAs and functionaries sat on the steps of the hall.
Many government servants who were appointed to posts after Mr. Karunanidhi lifted the ban on recruitment on his return to power in 2006 came to pay homage. S.R. Rajkumar, now posted in the local fund audit department in the State Secretariat, showed a copy of an appointment order signed by Mr. Karunanidhi, naming him a gazetted officer. “He gave us the opportunity to compete in competitive examinations and join the government,” he said.
As the morning wore on, the crowd swelled and many jumped over the barricades to get closer to the steps. When some climbed an ambulance stationed near the barricades, DMK MLA Ma. Subramaniam chided the supporters for their unruly behaviour. Closer to 11 a.m., a sudden cheer went through the crowd after Mr. Subramaniam announced that the Madras High Court had granted permission to allow Mr. Karunanidhi’s burial on the Marina. The crowd cheered further as Mr. Stalin, the party’s working president, turned emotional and his sister Ms. Kanimozhi consoled him.
Senior party cadre wanted just a glimpse of their leader but the younger ones wanted a photo or a video. An inconsolable Sundarammal, 75, said, “I visit Chennai every year to wish him on his birthday. My children don’t know I am here today. As soon as I heard that he had died I took the evening train from Madurai and arrived here this morning,” she said. S.P. Shanmugam, 73, from Tiruvannamalai, claimed he had been injured in a protest against Mr. Karunanidhi's arrest in 2001. “Kalaignar made sure the party paid for my treatment,” he said. As party workers broke the cordons to get closer to pay their last respects, many were injured. Some fainted.
( With inputs from R. Sivaraman, Aloysius Xavier Lopez, Serena Josephine M., R. Sujatha, Sunitha Sekar, Aditi R., Poorvaja S., and Deepu Sebastian Edmond.)
