Row Over Karunanidhi’s Burial: Madras HC To Resume Hearing At 8 AM

After the Tamil Nadu government refused to allot space at Chennai’s famed Marina Beach for former chief minister and Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch M Karunannidhi’s burial, his party moved the Madras High Court late on Tuesday, the Times of India has reported.

The Madras High Court heard the plea yesterday in a late night session. The hearing will continue at 8 am in a special session. The Tamil Nadu government had sought more time to submit its reply to the petition.

The state has instead allotted land in Guindy’s Gandhi Mandapan. The complex was inaugurated in 1956 by former Governor General of India C Rajagopalachari as a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. It also houses his own memorial, along with those of K Kamaraj and Minjur Bhatkavatsalam – both chief ministers of Madras state, and of prominent Dravidian activist Rettimalai Srinivasan.

The northern end of the Marina Beach – the second longest in the world – houses the memorials of two former chief ministers. The Anna memorial, dedicated to DMK founder C N Annadurai is where he was cremated in 1969. Adjacent to it is the MGR memorial where Annadurai’s successor and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) founder M G Ramachandran was buried. Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa too is buried there.

Quoting Coastal Zone Regulations (CRZ) that prohibited new structures coming up 500 m from the coast, the state government had in 2016 allowed for Jayalalithaa to be interred there by burying her in an existing structure.