JOIN USPresident to participate in centenary celebrations of Tamil Nadu assembly
The Tamil Nadu government on Monday invited President Ram Nath Kovind to commemorate the centenary year of the Madras Legislative Council established in 1921 under British rule. Chief Minister M K Stalin met Kovind in New Delhi and invited him to participate in the celebrations which will also include the unveiling of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi’s portrait in the Assembly hall.
Kovind has also been invited to lay the foundation stone for the construction of a world-class library in Madurai, a super speciality hospital in Chennai in memory of Karunanidhi and a memorial tower to mark 75 years of Independence on Marina Beach.
“The president has agreed to participate in the events. He has promised to give us a date in the next couple of days,” Chief Minister M K Stalin told reporters. To a question on whether he broached the topic of the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case with the President, Stalin replied in the negative.
The Madras Legislative Council was established in 1921 and inaugurated by the Duke of Connaught after the first elections to the council were held in November 1920. The Justice Party, which is a precursor to the now ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), rode to power in the first, second, and fourth elections held to the council. The last and the fifth council saw the Justice Party running a minority government.
The library and hospital are part of announcements that Stalin made on the birth anniversary of his father Karunanidhi on June 3. A multi-speciality hospital with 500 beds will be established at the King Institute campus in Guindy in south Chennai. The hospital will be built for Rs 250 crore.
Stalin had also said Kalaignar Memorial Library with modern amenities will be set up in Madurai at Rs 70 crore in an area of 2.5 lakh square feet to help students, scholars, and researchers in enriching their knowledge. The institution will be set up on the lines of the Anna Centenary Library built by Karunanidhi in memory of Dravidian warhorse and DMK founder C N Annadurai.