DMK president M.K. Stalin and MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday urged the State government to restore the name of Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy to the Poonamallee High Road.
The two leaders also criticised the Highways Department in this regard.
“When the interim-government of Tamil Nadu is left with a few days, where did the order for removal of Periyar’s name come from? Has the AIADMK government surrendered itself fully to the BJP government even to remove a name given by its party founder MGR?” Mr. Stalin asked in a statement.
Mr. Stalin said if the AIADMK government delayed restoring the name, it would be done by the DMK government after May 2.
Mr. Vaiko alleged that Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had implemented the order of the RSS and Sangh Parivar.
Protest planned
Meanwhile, the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam in Coimbatore has said that it would stage a protest in Chennai on April 16 seeking restoration of Periyar’s name.
In a statement, the outfit’s general secretary K. Ramakrishnan said AIADMK founder M. G. Ramachandran had renamed the Poonamalle High Road as E.V.R. Periyar Salai to mark the birth centenary of Periyar.
The current name change was condemnable, he said and added that during the protest, the organisation cadre would paint tar on the new name board.
