DMK Working President MK Stalin celebrates 65th birthday; gets books, bull among gift

DMK Working President M K Stalin on Wednesday celebrated his 65^th birthday with cadres greeting him with presents of a large number of books and a bull.

The bull was gifted to honour his ‘efforts’ in allowing conduct of jallikattu.

In a veiled attack on the AIADMK government led by K Palaniswami on the occasion, Stalin in a tweet said “Let us all vow to remove the proxy regime through legitimate means and a peaceful democratic revolution and strive to install DMK rule.”

A dark black bull, with its horns painted in the party colours of red and black and decorated with a bright muted orange-gold shawl, was gifted to Stalin at the DMK headquarters in Chennai.

Party workers said the bull was presented to him to honour his ‘efforts’ in getting the State and Central governments ‘act’ and give the nod for the traditional bull taming sport of jallikattu.

In deference Stalin’s appeal to gift him books rather than other presents, cadres handed him a large number of books.

The books included a slew of titles on various topics including Tamil literature, politics, Justice Party (precursor of Dravidar Kazhagam, the parent outfit of DMK), Mao, and Che Guevara.

The stage at Kalaignar Arangam in party headquarters where Stalin received visitors, had several shelves and the books that were gifted to him were put up there and soon the shelves were filled to capacity.

Stalin celebrated his birthday with his family first by cutting a cake at his residence in Chennai. He then placed wreaths at the mausoleums of former Chief Minister C N Annadurai and rationalist leader ‘Periyar’ E V Ramasamy.

He later drove to the Gopalapuram residence of his ailing father and party president M Karunanidhi and took his blessings. Also, he visited party general secretary K Anbazhagan and received his blessings.

DMK Principal Secretary Duraimurugan, Deputy General Secretary V P Duraisamy and other senior leaders including E V Velu, K Ponmudi greeted Stalin at his residence.

Later, the DMK Working Chief, who is also the leader of opposition in Assembly arrived at the party headquarters where party functionaries and cadres thronged to greet him.

When he arrived at the “Kalaignar Arangam,” at the party headquarters he was given a warm welcome by party workers.

The party, which is observing Stalin’s birthday as “youth uprising day,” organised several functions in the city and distributed welfare assistance to the needy.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee presidents EVKS Elangovan, M Krishnasamy, senior Congress leader Peter Alphonse greeted him in person.

Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu, Pon Radhakrishnan, CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, and TMC chief GK Vasan were among those who greeted him over phone.