Chennai, Aug 3 (IANS): President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday unveiled the portrait of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in the state Assembly on Monday.

He also hailed the landmark legislations of the century-old Assembly.

"It would not be wrong to say that this legislature becomes the fountainhead of many progressive legislation which were subsequently repeated across the country to empower the weaker sections of the society and strengthen democracy. The Madras legislature has sown the seeds of a fully representative democratic form of governance which were released after Independence," Kovind said.

Paying rich tributes to former Chief Minister, he said: "For him, his mother tongue was the object of worship, Tamil of course is one of the greatest and oldest languages of humankind. The whole world takes pride in its rich heritage. It was Karunanidhi who ensured that it was granted official recognition as a classical language."

AIADMK leaders skipped the occasion but BJP state President K. Annamalai and legislative party leader Nainar Nagenthran attended the programme.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, Tamil Manila Congress President G.K. Vasan, PMK President G.K. Mani, and Congress state President K.S. Alagiri were also present.