Modi’s MGR touch at Madurai meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while praising the rich tradition and history of Madurai said that the city remains the main centre of the glorious Tamil culture and is closely associated with the world’s oldest language Tamil.
“A century ago, many people from Saurashtra in my home state of Gujarat came to Madurai. There’s also a large population of Telugu people in this city, who have been living for many years. The way Madurai has accepted them is a perfect example of ‘One Nation’. The south Tamilnadu, especially Madurai, has a special association with the late Chief Minister, M G Ramachandran (MGR), founder of AIADMK. One could not forget ‘Madurai Veeran’, a Tamil film, in which MGR is the hero. Modi also recalled the stellar role of T M Soundararajan, popular playback singer during MGR era.
Hitting out at the Congress, he said in 1980 MGR’s democratically elected government was dismissed by that party. However, in the following elections MGR won from a Madurai based seat. The people of Madurai stood solid behind MGR. In his political career, MGR after forming the ADMK (later AIADMK) continuously won elections in 1977, 1980 and 1984 from places around Madurai region. His vision for an inclusive and prosperous society inspired the masses.