Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi passed away at the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai at 6.10 PM yesterday. Lakhs of supporters broke down when the news of the DMK chief’s death was announced in the evening. Soon after his death, a controversy erupted over where his mortal remains would be buried. The incumbent AIADMK government of Tamil Nadu refused to let Karunanidhi be buried next to other stalwart leaders like Annadurai, M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa at the Marina Beach. The reason the government cited behind its refusal is a technicality, claiming that this is reserved only for sitting chief ministers. The state government also stated that as the CM, Karunanidhi himself had not allowed K. Kamaraj and Janaki Ramachandran to be buried there since they were not sitting Chief Ministers.
The decision of state government has not gone down well with certain sections of the people, especially the DMK, which has moved to the Madras High Court against the government’s decision.
Case against denial of burial land by TN Govt at Marina beach for M #Karunanidhi: TN Govt states in its counter affidavit that DMK chief Karunanidhi himself didn't allot land for former CM Janaki Ramachandran after understanding the protocol manual when Karunanidhi was the CM.
— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2018
The Congress party, led by Gandhi scion, was quick to jump into the controversy to make some political capital out of it. The party claimed that Karunanidhi deserved Marina land for burial, and accused that the incumbent CM of Tamil Nadu is a puppet of the RSS.
The move of Congress party backfired against them rather quickly. People were quick to remind Congress of its past sins in this respect. Social Media users did a good job in digging out all the buried sins of the Congress.
A user pointed out how a large chunk of Delhi is dedicated to Samadhis dedicated to the members of Nehru-Gandhi family. Even for Sanjay Gandhi, who was not even PM, there is a Samadhi dedicated to him also.
Modi govt accords state funeral for #Karunanidhi, its political rival, and declares national mourning throughout the country.
Can’t help remember how Congress humiliated PV Narasimha Rao — its OWN finest Prime Minister — in his death.#RIPKalaignar #கலைஞர் #Marina4Kalaignar— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) August 7, 2018
People pointed out how badly Congress party treated former PM PVR Narasimha Rao even after his death. His funeral was a humiliating affair. His only sin was that he refused to follow the diktats of Nehru-Gandhi family. The Congress party disliked him for having own independent free thinking. When he died in 2004, doors of AICC headquarters were not opened for him. According to The Economist report, Sonia Gandhi, the head of Gandhi family, refused to allow his body to be cremated in Delhi. His family was forced to take him to Hyderabad. Stray dogs reportedly tore at the remains of PVR’s partially cremated body.
https://twitter.com/Shehzad_Ind/status/1026881342435454976
Other example of injustice meted out to great leaders by the Congress includes the name of India’s first President Rajendra Prasad, who doesn’t have a Samadhi in Delhi allegedly because liberal Nehru hated him. But on the other hand, the perpetrator of the emergency, Sanjay Gandhi has a Samadhi in Delhi.
The Congress leader should learn something from the BJP. The BJP government accorded state funeral for Karunanidhi, its political rival. On the other hand, the Congress party humiliated and disrespected its own Prime Minister- PVR Narasimha Rao. The Congress party should have been the last one to speak on Karunanidhi’s burial issue. Their record is very poor and nauseating in this regard. The Congress party, for its own good should not get into Karunanidhi’s burial debate.