MADURAI: The senior leaders of AIADMK led by its general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), who is also the leader of the opposition, paid floral tributes to the late freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial in Pasumpon on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters, Palaniswami said Thevar considered ‘nationalism’ and ‘spirituality’ as two eyes and contributed to the society.

“It’s MG Ramachandran, former CM and founder of AIADMK, who announced that Thevar Jayanthi would be celebrated as a government function and the party unveiled the portrait of Muthuramalinga Thevar in the Legislative Assembly in 1980. When J Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister, she adorned the statue of Thevar with a 13.5-kg golden armour, adding to his legacy in 2014. Earlier she unveiled a life-size statue of MGR at Nandanam in Chennai,” said Palaniswami.

“Thevar was instrumental in forming Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army in south India. Thevar was known for his humility, simplicity and inspiring confidence in others. He gave up his property for the economically disadvantaged section,” he added.

Earlier, Palaniswami along with his party cadre garlanded the Thevar statue at Goripalayam in Madurai, sources said.