Karunanidhi statue will be reinstalled on Chennai’s Anna Salai: Stalin

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Wednesday announced that a statue of late CM M Karunanidhi, which was demolished in 1987, would be erected on the

Anna Salai

in Chennai.

The statue was installed by Maniyamai in 1975 to fulfill the dream of Dravidar Kazhagam founder E V Ramasamy (alias) Periyar at the junction of the General Patters Road and the Anna Salai. It was unveiled by Kundrakudi Adigal. The statue was demolished during violence that broke out following the demise of then CM M G Ramachandran.

“Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani met me a couple of days ago and urged me to reinstall the statue of Kalaignar Karunanidhi on the Anna Salai. When I explained to him the court order regarding the installation of statues in public places, he (Veeramani) informed me that the statue was installed after obtaining the government’s permission,” Stalin said in the assembly while replying to Thiru Vi Ka MLA V Neelakandan (DMK) during the debate on demands for grants for various departments.

The DMK MLA, while participating in the debate, appealed to the CM to reinstall the former CM’s statue on the Anna Salai. “We will discuss with legal experts and take efforts to install the former CM’s statue in Anna Salai, without disturbing public and traffic,” said the CM.

There are statues of Periyar and former CMs C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran on the Anna Salai.