It was a memorable day for S.S. Dharshini and her family, belonging to the Narikuravar community, at Paruthipattu village in Tiruvallur district. On Friday morning, they played a perfect host to a guest in none other than Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who had breakfast at their house.
The Class VII student and her family members offered the Chief Minister coffee and urged him to have breakfast. The Chief Minister readily agreed, and was served a plate of idlis and vadai with sambar, chutney and country chicken (‘naatu kozhi’) curry.
Seated in a chair, Mr. Stalin interacted with his hosts and even offered a morsel to one of the little girls around.
Ms. Dharshini was among the three girls who visited the Secretariat last month to interact with the Chief Minister, at his invitation, after a video of the girls interacting in English had gone viral. During a subsequent telephone interaction, the girls invited Mr. Stalin to their home.
While Mr. Stalin was having food, the girl’s mother was heard saying she could not believe what she was seeing. When the Chief Minister asked whether they cooked spicy food, she said spice was good for health.
One of the girls presented a garland of beads to the Chief Minister.
During his visit to Tiruvallur district, Mr. Stalin handed over medical insurance cards to 39 members of the community, ration cards to 20, financial assistance under social security schemes to four and loans to roadside vendors at Jaya Nagar in the Tirumullaivoyal residential area. At Paruthipattu, he handed over welfare assistance to over 120 beneficiaries.
“During his interaction, the Chief Minister informed them that at his meeting with the Prime Minister, he handed over a representation to include the Narikuravar community in the list of Scheduled Tribes,” an official release said.
On his way back from a function in the Avadi Municipal Corporation, Mr. Stalin paid a surprise visit to the T-1 Ambattur police station, where he inspected records and reviewed action taken on complaints.
Minister for Dairy Development S.M. Nassar, who hails from the district; Poonamallee MLA A. Krishnaswamy; Avadi Mayor G. Udhayakumar; Deputy Mayor S. Suriyakumar; Director of Municipal Administration P. Ponniah; Tiruvallur Collector Alby John Varghese; and senior officials were also present.
