Thirty-five years ago, when residents of the Tamil-dominated Dharavi told DMK chief M. Karunanidhi about the lack of a community school in the area, he ensured that the party’s Mumbai unit received the funds to set up a school.
Remembering the DMK chief, who passed away on Tuesday, DMK Mumbai unit in-charge R. Palaniswamy said they had invited Karunanidhi to Mumbai. “Not only did he accept our invitation, but also evinced keen interest in our activities and needs. When we told him that lack of funds was a major hurdle in construction of the school, he asked senior party members to ensure that a school is opened,” he said. The unit got enough funds to not only build a school, but also purchase office space and books for the school library, he said.
During the Mumbai visit, Karunanidhi had met thousands of Tamil people in public meetings at Dadar Parsi Gymkhana and Adarsh Nagar Maidan in Worli. However, the DMK doyen did not visit Mumbai after 1983, Mr. Palaniswamy said.
On Wednesday, while some of Karunanidhi’s supporters flew to Chennai to attend his last rites, several gathered in Sion Koliwada to pay tribute to the leader.
The BJP MLA from Sion-Koliwada, Captain R. Tamil Selvan, who had organised the condolence meeting, said Karunanidhi was among the “rare leaders who practised what he preached”.
