Karunanidhi’s skills are unparalleled: Duraimurugan

DMK Minister Duraimurugan praised Karunanidhi's unparalleled skills in politics, cinema, literature, arts & culture. He was instrumental in hoisting national flag, voicing support for State autonomy & nationalisation of banks. He was multifaceted with immense talent, remembered fondly.

DMK general secretary and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan on Saturday said the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s skills are unparalleled in history - be it in politics, cinema, literature , arts and culture.

Inaugurating a day-long birth centenary celebrations of the former president of DMK here, Mr. Duraimurugan said that dialogues written by Karunanidhi for many movies including Sivaji Ganesan starrer Parasakthi and Manogara in the early decades of independence still remained fresh in everyone’s memory. Those dialogues were not mere words but had life in it, making the audience connect easily. “Even today, many newcomers, especially young actors, are asked to say those dialogues to test their dialogue delivery skills,” he said. 

In politics, the Minister said Karunanidhi’s skills were even sharper. For example, hoisting of national flags on Independence day and Republic day was restricted to the Governors in the State in the initial decades of independence. However, it was Karunanidhi who pitched for the rights of Chief Minister to hoist the national flag.

The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi agreed with him and subsequently a bill was passed in Parliament. “Once even the AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran too thanked Karunanidhi when the former hoisted the national flag for the first time after assuming office,” he said.

Further Mr. Duraimurugan said it was the former Chief Minister, who voiced his support for State autonomy. It resulted in the formation of Mandal Commission or Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission by the Janata Party (JP) government led by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1979. Karunanidhi was also instrumental in nationalisation of banks in the country when Indira Gandhi sought his ideas to generate public revenue, he said. “I was with Karunanidhi for 53 years. The former Chief Minister was a multifaceted person with enormous talents,” he said. 

Earlier, Mr. Duraimurugan inaugurated a photo exhibition on the life of the former Chief Minister as part of the birth centenary celebrations. On the occasion, the Minister for Water Resources also release a souvenir on Karunanidhi.

Ministers A. Chakrapani, S. Muthusamy, and R. Gandhi - Food and Civil Supplies; Housing and Urban Development; and Handlooms and Textiles respectively, Additional Chief Secretary, Sandeep Saxena, who is also Secretary of Water Resources Department, D.M. Kathir Anand, MP (Vellore), Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian, Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar, were present on the occasion.