Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin turned 70 on Wednesday and he marked his birthday by visiting the resting places of Dravidian stalwarts E V R Periyar, C N Annadurai, and M Karunanidhi and receiving greetings from party cadres and leading of alliance parties.
Wishes also poured in from across the political spectrum with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah conveying their birthday greetings to Stalin over the phone. Modi also wrote, “Birthday greetings to Tamil Nadu CM Thiru @mkstalin Ji. May he be blessed with a long and healthy life” on his Twitter page.
President Draupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar wrote separate letters to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister wishing him a long life and long innings in politics. Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wished Stalin over the phone, while her son Rahul Gandhi, who is on a visit to Britain, took to Twitter to convey his birthday greetings to the DMK chief.
“Happy birthday to my dear brother, Thiru @mkstalin. Wishing you much happiness and good health,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter. Pinarayi Vijayan, K Chandrasekar Rao, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, and Arvind Kejriwal — chief ministers of Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Delhi — also wished Stalin on his 70th birthday.
Stalin began his day by visiting the memorials of Annadurai and Karunanidhi on the Marina Beach to pay his respects following which he visited Periyar Memorial. He then paid floral tributes to Karunanidhi’s portraits at his Gopalapuram and CIT colony residences in Chennai.
At the Anna Arivalayam, the party HQ, thousands of party functionaries, cadres, and leaders from alliance parties made a beeline to wish Stalin in person. CPI general secretary D Raja, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief K S Alagiri, and VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan are among those who wished Stalin in person.
Industrialist Venu Srinivasan, his wife and TAFE Managing Director Mallika Srinivasan met Stalin at his residence and wished him on his birthday. Consul Generals based out of Chennai also took to social media platform to wish the Chief Minister.
The party’s I-T wing has launched a couple of innovative ways to enable party cadre and Stalin’s well-wishers across the state to extend him birthday greetings. Party leaders said cadres can call the number 07127 191333 to record a birthday greeting for the chief minister from February 28 to March 2. They also said cadres can also take a selfie with the CM by logging to the website - www.selfiewithCM.com.
The party also organised a “Flash Mob” at a mall in Chennai on Tuesday evening.