Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin declared on Thursday that a statue of German philosopher and socialist theorist Karl Marx would be placed in Chennai, a city traditionally known as a stronghold of the labor movement.
Presenting a suo motu statement under Rule 110 in the House, Stalin announced, "The Dravidian model government desires to honor and pay tribute to the great world leader Karl Marx—a visionary ideologist and revolutionary who evolved the philosophy of communism and issued the call: 'Workers of the world, unite!'"
The release comes on the eve of the 24th National Congress of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which is ongoing in Madurai. Stalin will be present at the congress.
Saluting Marx as the greatest intellectual of all time, Stalin attributed to him the influence of many revolutions and social changes. "While no one wrote about India, it was Karl Marx who correctly analyzed and chronicled the facts of the nation," he declared.
He also pointed out that social reformer Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy) had translated The Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Friedrich Engels, into Tamil in 1931.
The move was welcomed by political leaders across the board. CPI-M state secretary P. Shanmugam welcomed it, saying that the party had made a formal request for the installation of the statue. Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani welcomed the decision as a "great achievement of the Dravidian model government." CPI state secretary R. Mutharasan termed it a historic one, while PMK founder Dr. S. Ramadoss said it was a befitting tribute to Marx, whom he called "a comrade of labourers."
In the same speech, Stalin also announced plans for the construction of a memorial to late All India Forward Bloc leader P.K. Mookiah Thevar at Usilampatti in Madurai district.
Appreciating Thevar's role in Tamil Nadu politics, Stalin mentioned his long association with Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar. He remembered that Mookiah Thevar was elected for the first time from the Periyakulam Assembly seat in 1952 and subsequently won several elections from Usilampatti in 1957, 1962, 1967, 1971, and 1977. In 1971, he also won the Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha seat. Stalin also pointed out Thevar's major contribution to the 1967 political shift in Tamil Nadu as the pro-tem Speaker, who swore in newly elected MLAs.
Stalin also attributed to Thevar the opening of educational institutions that served the Thevar community, and through this, government colleges in Kamuthi, Usilampatti, and Melaneelithanallur were opened during the DMK period.
Stalin also recognized Thevar's strong protest in Parliament against the Katchatheevu agreement. The Chief Minister's declarations were received warmly by everybody in the Assembly, even the main opposition AIADMK.
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