MADURAI: Chief Minister (CM) Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister (Dy CM) O Panneerselvam, other cabinet ministers, political leaders, including DMK president MK Stalin, and members of the public paid tribute to the statue of freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar at Goripalayam in Madurai on Friday.
The CM and the Dy CM was accompanied by ministers Sellur K Raju, C Vijayabaskar, RB Udhayakumar, Theni MP P Raveendranath, and several MLAs.
Before heading to Ramanathapuram, the chief minister and the others paid tribute to the statues of China Maruthu and Periya Maruthu, famously known as Maruthu brothers, at Teppakulam.
Stalin pays tribute
Opposition leader and DMK president MK Stalin, MLAs and cadre from his party paid tribute to the statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar in Goripalayam, and to those of the Maruthu brothers at Teppakulam. Cadres from the BJP, the TNCC, the MDMK, the DMDK, and several Hindu outfits also paid tribute to the freedom fighter.
Police sources said that there was no untoward incident in the urban and rural limits of the district. South Zone IG Dr S Murugan and City Commissioner of Police Prem Anand Sinha supervised the security arrangements.
Social distancing goes for a toss
A large number of people, especially youth and women, turned up to pay tribute to the late freedom fighter on Friday. They stood in queues, with women carrying molaiparis. A few even performed paal abishegam on the statue in Madurai. The event, however, was conspicuous by a lack of adherence to Covid-19 regulations as only a few wore face masks and maintained social distancing.