Show of brotherhood by Vijayan, Stalin at event to honour Dravidian icon

Kottayam, Dec 12 (IANS) Ever since M.K. Stalin took over as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the state's relations with Kerala have been very strong and on Thursday this fact was even more evident as Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan travelled together in one car to a meeting venue, near here.

CM Stalin, who arrived in Kerala after spending time in a houseboat at the picturesque Kumarakom tourist destination, on Thursday morning arrived with CM Vijayan to inaugurate the renovated memorial of social reformer and Dravidian ideologue E.V. Ramasamy Periyar at Vaikom.

The venue of the function houses the statue of Periyar, a museum and a library and the two leaders went around the renovated premises.

Speaking on the occasion CM Vijayan said the presence of CM Stalin at the event brought a lot of significance to it.

“Periyar stood in the forefront of uplifting the weak and downtrodden. According to Periyar the Congress leaders never stood for the downtrodden. He always had a strong sentiment for the Communists and was known for the closeness he had with Communist leaders in Tamil Nadu,” said Vijayan and added that the Dravidian icon’s thoughts and ideology continue to be relevant even today.

CM Stalin also paid glowing tributes to Periyar and the movement he led and also thanked the Vijayan government for organising the event.

The significance of the new-found brotherhood that starts at the highest level between the two CMs, should be seen in the presence of several dignitaries, including Kerala Ministers V.N. Vasavan and Saji Cheriyan, along with Tamil Nadu Ministers Durai Murugan, E.V. Velu and M.P. Saminathan besides top officials with the two states’ Chief Secretaries also present.

This is not the first time the two CMs are sharing a stage, as in the past Stalin was present at the 23rd CPI-M Party Congress held at Vijayan’s pocket borough in Kannur two years ago.

Vijayan has also visited Tamil Nadu in the past on quite a few occasions and has his routine medical checkups at a popular private hospital there.