Two political parties demand renaming of Madurai airport after Tamil political figure Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar

The members of Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Forward Bloc on Wednesday held protests in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu demanding re-naming of the Madurai airport after Tamil political figure Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar. 

The airport is currently known as Madurai International Airport.

The protests took place in front of the statue of Thevar. He is also known as U Muthuramalingam Thevar.

Thevar is revered as an icon in the politics of Tamil Nadu. He was committed to the construction of a federal socialist India.

He was honoured posthumously when a college was founded after him in 1968 by the then state government. His biography was included in the school textbooks in the state. His cemetery was converted into a memorial. A life-size portrait of him was installed in the state assembly. In 2002, a statue of Thevar was unveiled.