He recalled the role played by the Maruthuvar community (barber-cum-village doctor) in the development of Dravidian movement, and said but for their contribution the party would not not have come to this level.

He was declaring open the memorial house of martyr Viswanatha Doss, built at a cost of Rs 50 lakh, and announcing welfare schemes to the tune of Rs 10.12 crore.

Karunanidhi said most of the barber shops in Tamil Nadu were places where the newspapers of the Dravidian parties carrying the thoughts of late E V Ramasamy and late C N Annadurai, were read and discussed.

While Ramasamy was the father of the Dravidian movement, Annadurai was former Tamil Nadu chief minister and founder of the DMK.

Karunanidhi said in his own student days he used to read a lot and discuss aboutpolitics in a local saloon at Tiruvarur, his home town. Karunanidhi also said that the DMK government had done maximum honour for the martyrs and recognised their services to the nation in the best possible way.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker, P T R Palanivelrajan, also echoed the same sentiments. The information minister, Mullaivendan, said that the memorial was designed by the chief minister himself.