CM recalls Gandhi-Jeeva meet at opening of memorial hall

Madurai: Chief minister M K Stalin on Friday recalled the historic meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighter Jeevanandam during the freedom struggle in Sivaganga. He was speaking after inaugurating the Gandhi-Jeeva memorial hall, built at a cost of Rs3.27 crore, at Siravayal village in Sivaganga."Comrade Jeeva built an ashram for Mahatma Gandhi. When Gandhiji came to visit it, he asked Jeeva how much property he owned, to which Jeeva replied, ‘This is my property.' To this, Gandhiji reportedly said, ‘No, all of India is your property.' To commemorate this historic moment, a memorial hall, a statue, and a memorial were constructed in their honour," he added. The CM said that instead of merely constructing a memorial, it was built as a marriage hall to benefit people of the locality. Stalin said CPM state secretary P Shanmugam had made a request to him to install a statue of Karl Marx in Tamil Nadu, specifically in Chennai, because Karl Marx used library a lot. "Hence, the Karl Marx statue is to be installed at the museum at Connemara Library in Chennai," he said, and invited the leaders present at the event to the unveiling of the statue on Feb 6.He then proceeded to Kundrakudi, garlanded and paid homage to the statue of Thavathiru Kundrakudi Adigalar installed at Arulalayam. He also unveiled the stone inscription commemorating the centenary of Adigalar at his memorial. Later, he unveiled the statue of renowned Tamil poet Mudiyarasan at Kalanivasal, installed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.Ministers K K S S R Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarasu, K R Periyakaruppan, M P Saminathan, R S Rajakanappan, Siva V Meyyanathan, Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram, Sivaganga MP Karti Chidambaram, and CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, were among those present.Earlier, Stalin was given a rousing reception by DMK cadres and people on his arrival in Sivaganga. The CM would be participating in a govt event on Saturday, where he would inaugurate completed projects, lay foundation stone for new ones, and distribute welfare assistance to beneficiaries.