CHENNAI: Hundreds of cadre, who gathered at former chief minister M Karunanidhi’s Gopalapuram residence to wish him on his 88th birthday, were disappointed after they were sent back saying that the DMK patriarch wanted to be alone. Thereafter, Karunanidhi left for a private hotel on East Coast Road.Despite MK’s statement on Thursday asking cadre not to visit his home or the party headquarters to greet him on his birthday, hundreds of cadre from various parts of the State thronged his house early on Friday.All former ministers and senior leaders, his son M K Stalin and Union minister Dayanidhi Maran visited his house in the morning, while cadre waited eagerly to wish him and seek blessings from their ‘thalaivar’ outside.When he emerged from his house to visit the Anna Samadhi, the cadre raised slogans. Karunanidhi waved at the waiting crowd and left. He did not accept gifts or even shawls. As he left, his younger son M K Stalin and grand nephew Dayanidhi Maran followed him in another car. At the Anna Samadhi too, a crowd of partymen and senior leaders jostled with each other to push closer to their leader resulting in a melee. “We were all surprised when our ‘Thalaivar’ refused the regular greetings today. We usually garland ‘Thalaivar’ and his wife Dayalu Ammal and seek blessings from them.,” said a senior party functionary.It was not a happy day for the DMK leader as his daughter Kanimozhi’s bail plea came up for hearing in a Delhi court around noon, but cadre felt that he should have acted confidently on this day. “Why can’t he entrust the responsibility to Stalin and revamp the party. If he would have announced this on his birthday, it would have been a good response to the AIADMK, which started the Assembly session on Friday,” said a group of cadre who had come from southern and central parts of the State. Stories flew around that the DMK chief had left for Delhi, while others said that he had gone to Periyar Thidal. The disappointment of the cadre only increased when it was announced that MK had left for a hotel on ECR and that he would not be back till the evening.Some partymen attributed a reason to their leader skipping the much rumoured Delhi visit on Friday. They said that the fiasco over Baba Ramdev’s fast had kicked up a lot of dust in Delhi and that MK’s visit would only add fuel to the fire.
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