Stalin’s Pasumpon visit called off due to back pain

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin will not visit Pasumpon for the 115th birth anniversary cum Guru Pooja of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar on October 30 owing to back pain.

A statement issued by the State Information and Publicity Department early Saturday said that doctors have advised the Chief Minister to avoid long journeys owing to back pain. "Hence, State Irrigation Minister Duraimurugan, Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru and Cooperatives Minister I Periasamy will participate in the Guru Pooja on behalf of the Chief Minister," the statement added.

Late Friday evening, Stalin visited a corporate hospital in the city where he underwent a check up for back pain before returning home.

Significantly, Leader of Opposition cum AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami would also be missing in Pasumpon Sunday as he has chosen to garland Thevar statue in the city, ostensibly, due to political reason. Former AIADMK minister R B Udayakumar faced backlash at the Thevar memorial in Ramanathapuram yesterday after his supporters hailed EPS as the future chief minister of the state, which annoyed the members of the mukkulathor community gathered there. Thevar Jayanathi, an annual event commemorating the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Muthuramalingam Thevar, is a significant event in the political calendar of the state with the two influential Dravidian parties vying to make their presence felt there.