CHENNAI: A sense of fulfilment prevailed the air as five-time chief minister and DMK president M
Karunanidhi was laid to rest with full state honours near the memorial of his mentor CN Annadurai on
Marina Beach here on Wednesday evening.
For the family members, who stood together in the solemn evening, and thousands of DMK workers, who shouted slogans celebrating the life the party chief, the Marina
burial for their “Thalaivar” meant showing gratitude to him for all what he had done for them. They ensured a space for Kalignar on Marina even though they had to take the legal route.
After the family members, including M K Stalin, M K Alagiri, and Kanimozhi, paid homage to Karunanidhi, his mortal remains were placed in a casket. The casket had an epitaph which the leader had written for himself 33 years ago. It read, “The one who toiled without rest takes eternal rest here.” The casket was lowered to the grave at 7pm.
Earlier, Army personnel handed over the national flag to Stalin with which the leader’s body was draped in the morning.
Karunanidhi’s body was brought to Marina from Rajaji Hall on an Army vehicle decorated with flowers. The
funeral cortege started from Rajaji Hall at 4pm and reached Marina at 6.13pm.
As the procession reached Marina, party men chanted “Thalaiva” “Tamilea” “Annavin Thambiyea” and turned emotional. Many cried inconsolably.
Tamil Nadu governor Banwari Lal Purohit, former Prime Minister Deva Gowda, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, state fisheries minister D Jayakumar, Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan and Derek O’Brien of Trinamool Congress were among the political leaders who were present during the funeral.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were among those who paid homage to Karunanidhi at Rajaji Hall.
High court order
A Marina burial for Karunanidhi was ensured after the DMK moved the
Madras high court on Tuesday night. The court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to allot a space near Anna memorial on Marina Beach for a decent burial of Karunanidhi who died on Tuesday at the age of 94.
A high court bench comprising Additional Chief Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh and Justice S S Sundar passed the order, despite a strong objection from the state government, on an urgent petition moved by the DMK challenging a press release issued by the Tamil Nadu government denying a space on Marina to bury the mortal remains of Karunanidhi.
Stampede at Rajaji Hall
Three people died and 51 others suffered injuries in a stampede at Rajaji Hall where Karunanidhi’s mortal remains were kept for the public to pay homage. The stampede happened around 11.15am when police were letting people enter the Rajaji Hall premises in batches.
There was a sudden rush, and many people fell down and a stampede ensued. The injured people were sent to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where three of them succumbed to their injuries.
