Sonia’s b’day gift for Maran: Stamp

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today released a five-rupee denomination stamp to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of the Late DMK leader ...

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today released a five-rupee denomination stamp to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of the Late DMK leader Murasoli Maran, terming it a stamp of ‘‘gratitude to the contribution of a special son of the country’’.

The function was organised by the Postal department, headed by the Communications Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, the son of Late Murasoli Maran.

Paying tributes to the former Union Commerce Minister, Sonia said the ‘‘painfully-constructed’’ alliance by DMK president M. Karunanidhi was born out of shared concerns and common interests. She expressed her gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu for their ‘‘overwhelming mandate” to them in the Lok Sabha elections.

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Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who released the special postal cover on Maran, said the Late DMK leader had left an indelible mark in the pages of history through this defence of democratic values and administrative and journalistic skills.

Recalling Maran’s statement on the eve of the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, that Indira Gandhi alone could provide good and stable governance to the country, Karunanidhi said ‘‘under Sonia Gandhi’s guidance’’, and support from the Left parties, the Government would be stable.’’

Sources in the LJP (RV) said the names of the remaining 15 candidates would also be announced very soon.

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