Tamil Nadu D Jayakumar gifted rings to newborns in Chennai on Jayalalithaa's birth anniversary
To mark former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's 72nd birth anniversary, Tamil Nadu government gifted gold rings to newborn babies today.
At a government hospital, State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar greeted every mother who had given birth to a baby today, kissed and put the ornament on the newborn's finger.
Mothers appreciated the move, however, objected to the presence of media personnel.
"It's a good gesture. But how can the hospital allow media and cadre into the ward? Won't this infect the place? Won't the newborns be traumatised by the sound? Can't this be done in a quiet and private way?" a mother who did not want to be named said.
This is not the first time that a political party is giving away expensive gifts to mark important events.
"For the past 31 years we have been continuously giving. We will be giving for another hundred years also," Mr Jayakumar told NDTV.
Not far away, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami launched a massive afforestation drive to plant 72 lakh trees across the state.
Since 2012, such afforestation drives have been conducted on this day.
The ruling AIADMK has also declared J Jayalalithaa's birthday as Women and Children Children Protection Day.
Tributes poured in for J Jayalalithaa at the party headquarters as Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam led the celebrations garlanding her statue. A cake was cut and sweets were also distributed. A slew of welfare activities, including blood donation, health check-up and a free meal, were also organised.
A popular actor, J Jayalalithaa was propelled into politics by her mentor and former chief minister MG Ramachandran. After the death of MGR, Jayalalithaa became the Chief Minister and was elected four times. A court in Bengaluru convicted her in a disproportionate assets case but was later acquitted. J Jayalalithaa died on December 5, 2016, after being treated at Chennai's Apollo Hospital for 75 days.