Palaniswami seeks to confer Muthuramalinga Thevar with Bharat Ratna
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS has demanded Bharat Ratna – the highest Indian civilian award — for freedom fighter and community icon Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar.
Speaking at Aathoor in Dindigul district, a Thevar stronghold, on Sunday, EPS also urged the Union government to name the Madurai Airport after Thevar, assuring that the AIADMK would “take up these demands with the Centre and do everything required to fulfil them”.
Though these are old demands, EPS’s pitch comes at a politically sensitive time, with the AIADMK grappling with the exit of prominent Thevar leaders O Panneerselvam (OPS) and TTV Dhinakaran from the NDA.
The development that has unsettled the party’s traditional base in southern Tamil Nadu and the party is trying hard to retain the vote of the Thevar community.
Earlier, the AIADMK’s move to expel OPS, Sasikala, and Dhinakaran in the aftermath of Jayalalithaa’s death had already weakened the AIADMK’s support in the southern districts during the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Recollecting Muthuramalinga Thevar’s contributions, EPS said the late leader had “donated large portions of his properties without discriminating on the basis of caste, creed or religion”.
He also won both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats unopposed, he added, positioning Thevar as a national figure deserving of the highest civilian honour.