Daijiworld Media Network – Dindigul

Dindigul, Sep 8: AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Sunday demanded that freedom fighter and community icon Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar be honoured with the Bharat Ratna. Speaking at Aathoor in Dindigul district, a Thevar stronghold, he also urged the Union government to rename Madurai Airport after Thevar.

EPS assured that the AIADMK would “take up these demands with the Centre and do everything required to fulfil them.” Though long-standing, the pitch comes at a politically sensitive time, as the AIADMK struggles to retain support among the Thevar community following the exit of O Panneerselvam (OPS) and TTV Dhinakaran from the party and their subsequent entry into the NDA.

Recollecting Thevar’s contributions, EPS said the late leader had donated large portions of his property without discrimination and had once won both Lok Sabha and Assembly seats unopposed. “He was a national figure deserving of the highest civilian honour,” EPS said.

For decades, the Thevar community had strongly backed the AIADMK, particularly under Jayalalithaa, who elevated OPS and gave prominence to other Thevar leaders. But after EPS, a Gounder leader, rose to power post-Jayalalithaa, the expulsion of Sasikala, OPS, and Dhinakaran deepened discontent among Thevar cadres.

With OPS and Dhinakaran now joining forces after being sidelined in the NDA, EPS’s latest push for Bharat Ratna recognition is seen as a calibrated attempt to rebuild trust with the Thevar community ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.