On the eve of his 86th birthday, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi donated his Gopalapuram residence to the Annai Anjugam Trust for running a free hospital for the poor after his and wife's lifetime.
As promised at the launch of the Chief Minister's Health Insurance Scheme, Mr. Karunanidhi on Wednesday submitted the document of the house to the Trust in the name of his mother to run the Kalaignar Karunanidhi Hospital. “I am a rationalist. So, I am satisfied. If I were a spiritualist, my soul would have felt satisfied,” he said after the document registration.
Asked how his sons felt when he decided to donate the house, Mr. Karunanidhi said: “My children have never gone against my wishes.”
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On historic moments in the house, Mr. Karunanidhi said he did not want to mention a few names as many great leaders had visited the house. “The function today to hand over the documents to run a free hospital is the most memorable moment.” Mr. Karunanidhi bought the house from Sarabeshwara Iyer in 1955.
He registered the house in the name of his sons M.K. Azhagiri, M.K. Stalin and M.K. Thamizharasu in 1968.
On July 23, 2009, Mr. Karunanidhi, after receiving the consent of his sons, announced that the house would be handed over to a trust for running a free hospital for the poor.
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On Wednesday, he nominated five trustees – CavinKare CMD C.K. Renganathan, film director Ramanarayanan, poet Vairamuthu, Union Minister A. Raja and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting S Jagathratchagan – to run the Trust effectively. Recalling the days he spent with his parents, sisters, sons and sons-in-law and grand children, Mr. Karunanidhi said he was dedicating his home, a library of historic records, for curing the illness of the poor. The trustees could be approached in future for details on how the hospital would function.