In first Independence-Day speech, CM M K Stalin vows to document Tamils’ role in freedom

CHENNAI: Chief minister M K Stalin on Sunday promised to document the contributions of Tamils in freedom struggle and thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to unfurl the national flag at Fort St George on India’s 75th Independence Day.
“This year marks my 50 years in public life,” Stalin said, in his maiden Independence Day speech as chief minister. He also recalled his father and former CM M Karunanidhi’s letter to former PM Indira Gandhi that ushered in the tradition of CMs unfurling the tricolour on August 15.
CM Stalin, who also unveiled a ‘commemorative pillar’ to mark the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of India’s Independence, said the year 2021 was notable for several things including the visit of the President for the centenary celebrations of the Tamil Nadu assembly, completion of hundred years of Justice Party being voted to power in TN, and 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to the state after which he started using simple clothes.
The year also marks the 150th birth anniversary of V O Chidambaram Pillai who sold his family’s wealth to float a shipping company against the British, the CM said, adding that the occasion will be celebrated in a grand manner. The year also marks the centenary of poet Bharathiyar’s death, he said.