Chennai: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay, DMK president M K Stalin, leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, and other political leaders paid homage to social reformer E V R Periyar on his birth anniversary on Thursday.Vijay visited the secretariat and paid floral tributes to a portrait of Periyar. Later, he took the Social Justice Day oath along with cabinet colleagues and govt staff. In a post on X, he urged people to follow Periyar’s principles.M K Stalin and senior DMK leaders took a similar oath at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. Udhayanidhi garlanded Periyar’s statue on Anna Salai and said, “We will uphold Periyar’s principles – we will protect social justice.”Social justice minister Vanni Arasu praised Periyar’s uncompromising approach to eradicating Sanatana, male dominance, and caste discrimination. After paying tributes at Periyar’s memorial in Periyar Thidal, he said, “On his birth anniversary, let’s take an oath to eradicate Sanatana and uphold the state’s rights.” He also urged people to safeguard the identities of the state and country.DMK MP Kanimozhi Rajathi Karunanidhi posted a short video on X, which took a dig at those who “depend on astrologers all the while but use Periyar whenever required for the sake of politics”.
