Non-NDA Leaders Gather In Chennai As Karuna Turns 94

Chennai: DMK President M Karunanidhi turned 94 on Friday and the party combined the twin celebrations of his birthday and his sixty years of service as a legislator.

The ailing leader's Gopalapuram residence was decked with flowers as scores of supporters converged outside and distributed sweets to celebrate the birthday of 'Kalaignar', as he is fondly addressed by them.

The nonagenarian leader had undergone a tracheotomy procedure in December to improve breathing. His son and DMK Working President M K Stalin were among those who met Karunanidhi early in the day on the occasion.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President M Hamid Ansari, Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu and her Kerala counterpart P Sathasivam, chief ministers Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha) and Congress president Sonia Gandhi among others have greeted the DMK chief.

Later in the day, top non-NDA leaders including Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and TMC MP Derek O'Brien are scheduled to attend a function organised to mark Karunanidhi's sixty years as a member of legislative assembly.

The Dravidian veteran was first elected to the state Assembly from Kulithalai in then undivided Tiruchirappally in 1957. He has not lost a single election he contested in his six decade long career.