State Ministers, leaders of various political parties and hundreds of people from various walks of life paid homage to Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on the occasion of his 105th birth anniversary and 50th guru puja in his native Pasumpon village on Tuesday.
The jayanthi celebration at the memorial site passed off peacefully even though some violent incidents resulting in the murder of three people took place elsewhere in the district.
People, who thronged the samadhi to offer worship and pay homage, were mostly unaware of the incidents.
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The three-day celebrations began on October 28 with youth carrying ‘jothis’ from various parts of the district and women offering worship, carrying ‘mulaipari’ and milk pots.
The police had made elaborate security arrangements in 12 sectors of the district, posting one Superintendent of Police in each sector.
As the celebrations culminated on Tuesday, a large number of people, mostly youth, drawn from the southern districts and leaders of various political parties visited the memorial and paid their homage to the leader.
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On behalf of the government, Ministers, led by O. Panneerselvam, paid their homage by placing a wreath on the samadhi. The other Ministers, who paid homage were Natham R. Viswanathan, K.P. Munusamy, R. Vaithialingam, Sellur K. Raju, R. Kamaraj, P. Senthur Pandian, S. Sundararaj, S. Gokula Indira and K.T. Rajendra Balaji. On behalf of the district administration, Collector K. Nanthakumar paid homage.
Others who paid homage included DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and BJP State president Pon Radhakrishnan.
In a brief chat with reporters, Vaiko, hailing Thevar as a national leader, exhorted the people of southern districts to bury the hatchet and avoid caste clashes.
In an official function presided over by the Collector in the evening, Minister K. Senthur Pandian unveiled a portrait of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar and distributed welfare assistance.