TNCC prepares to celebrate 100th birth anniversary of Elayaperumal

To celebrate the life and career of Dalit leader L. Elayaperumal, whose 100th birth anniversary falls on June 26, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee will organise seminars and other events highlighting his achievements and contributions to the party

To celebrate the life and career of Dalit leader L. Elayaperumal, whose 100th birth anniversary falls on June 26, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee will organise seminars and other events highlighting his achievements and contributions to the party.

M.P. Ranjan Kumar, head, TNCC Scheduled Caste Cell, said Elayaperumal’s contributions to the Dalit community and the wider society had not been discussed adequately in Tamil Nadu.

“The Congress party today has a Dalit as its national president (Mallikarjun Kharge), and it is time to highlight Elayaperumal’s work as an elected representative and a party leader. We are planning to organise several programmes, starting from June 15, which will culminate with a celebration at Sathyamurthy Bhavan on June 26,” he said.

Elayaperumal organised many agitations on pressing social issues in Thanjavur and the erstwhile South Arcot districts. He joined the Congress and was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Cuddalore Parliamentary constituency at the age of 27. He served as an MP thrice, and as an MLA from the Egmore Assembly constituency.

The party’s national leaders are likely to attend the events.

Mr. Kumar said the Congress should highlight the work done by Dalit leaders of the party. “Not many, including Congress cadre, know about leaders such as Elayaperumal. This is an effort towards correcting it,” he said, adding that a march in Elayaperumal’s honour was also likely.