The statues of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and M G Ramachandran have been installed alongside the CN Annadurai statue at Avinashi Road in Coimbatore. Their statues stand tall next to the famous Anna silai (statue) on the arterial Avinashi Road, a six-lane national highway. It comes as a surprise that no former unveiling of the statues has been done by the party, as yet. It must also be noted that the traffic island, where the Anna statue is, remained covered for over 3 months, but on Sunday, the day when MGR centenary celebrations are held in a grand manner in the city by the ruling AIADMK, the covers on the statues were removed. While the statue of Anna, the founder of DMK, has been refurbished, the statues of MGR and Jayalalithaa are seen flashing their two fingers, indicating the party’s two-leaves symbol.
Meanwhile, MGR centenary celebrations are being held in the state with wide-spread security arrangements. As per various media reports, more than 4000 police personnel from eight districts have been deployed in the city on Sunday during the MGR centenary celebrations. State Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami is expected to launch several welfare schemes for the people during the celebrations at VOC Grounds in the presence of State Ministers. Various Government offices, including the district collectorate and Police Commissioner office, have been illuminated with lights and decorated to mark the day.
The opposing parties have reacted sharply to the MGR centenary celebrations saying that more Ministers should be sent to rain-ravaged districts of Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli for monitoring rescue and relief operations, instead of participating in MGR centenary celebrations.