Modi, who campaigned for NDA candidates here on Friday, said when you say Madurai, people think about Tamil sangam and Tamil literature, which is full of wisdom.

He expressed his wish to appreciate all those working to make Tamil culture and literature more popular. This land (Madurai) has a great influence on freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. The people of this region have a strong mind and a big heart.

“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 Tamil Nadu, 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 the 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.

The Prime Minister earlier began his speech with the slogan, ‘Vetrivel’ twice and ‘Veeravel’ and expressed a sense of jubilation for being in Madurai. Modi said he would cherish the special moments of having visited Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple on Thursday night, for the rest of his life. Coming to this ‘Punniya bhumi’— holy land — and ‘veer bhumi’ — heroic land of south Tamil Nadu — I bow to Lord Koodal Azhagar and Murugan in Tiruparankundram, he said.