Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, accusing it of mere symbolic gestures instead of taking real steps to promote Tamil. Stalin demanded that Tamil be made an official language on par with Hindi and criticized the government for prioritizing Sanskrit over Tamil.
Taking to social media platform X on Tuesday (March 5), Stalin questioned the BJP’s commitment to Tamil culture. “If the BJP’s claim that our Hon’ble PM has great love for Tamil is true, why is it never reflected in action?” he wrote. He urged the Centre to prioritize real issues instead of symbolic acts like installing Sengol in Parliament. “Rather than installing Sengol in Parliament, uninstall Hindi from Union Government offices in Tamil Nadu. Instead of hollow praise, make Tamil an official language and allot more funds for Tamil than a dead language like Sanskrit,” he said.
Stalin further took a dig at the Centre’s naming conventions for national schemes and trains, criticizing the imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit terminology. “Stop wasting taxpayers’ money on the nonsense of ‘Hindi Pakhwadas’ in Tamil Nadu. End the absurdity of imposing Sanskrit names like Antyodaya, Tejas, and Vande Bharat on Tamil Nadu’s trains. Revert to the practice of naming them in Tamil, like Chemmozhi, Muthunagar, Vaigai, Malaikottai, Thirukkural Express, etc.,” he stated.
He also called for concrete measures to uplift Tamil Nadu, stressing that quoting Tamil literary works in the Union Budget was not enough. “Honour them by ensuring special schemes, a prompt disaster relief fund, and new railway projects for Tamil Nadu,” he asserted.
Responding to Stalin’s remarks, BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai countered the DMK leader, accusing him of restricting Tamil’s influence beyond the state’s borders. “What were your achievements in propagating our Tamil language beyond TN while in power in the State and Centre? Did anyone obstruct DMK from doing it?” he asked. Annamalai also questioned Stalin on his contributions to the Tamil Development Centre program, initiated under the previous AIADMK regime.
“The matter is not about your demands; you have always wished that Tamil remain confined within the borders of our State,” Annamalai alleged, suggesting that Stalin’s government had done little to promote Tamil on a national or global level.