DINDIGUL/CHENNAI: The people of Tamil Nadu will never allow the imposition of Hindi at any cost, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting in Dindigul, Udhayanidhi said, “Many people are trying to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu, and are desperate. As they cannot do it directly, they are interfering with the ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ and have removed certain words from the song.
Under the guise of the New Education Policy, they attempted to impose Hindi, but it failed due to counter-action by Chief Minister MK Stalin. Now, some are attempting to remove the word ‘Dravidam’ from the ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’, but we will not allow that to happen. Until the last DMK cadre or the last person from Tamil Nadu is alive, nobody can dare touch ‘Dravidam’, Tamil Nadu or Tamil.”
“Social reformer Periyar fought against the social evil of Sati. When I spoke about this culture, my remarks were twisted and cases were filed against me throughout the country, despite which I refused to bow down. Self-respect marriages were given legal recognition by former chief minister CN Annadurai.
Women were given an equal share in ancestral properties 30 years ago by the late DMK supremo M Karunanidhi. Following his footsteps, the chief minister has implemented several schemes for women’s welfare. The free bus travel scheme has benefited crores of women, and many states were inspired by the scheme and plan on implementing the same. This is the Dravidian model of governance.”
Responding to Edappadi K Palaniswami’s comment that he had become deputy chief minister in a short while bypassing several DMK leaders, Udhayanidhi told reporters at Chennai airport earlier in the day that Palaniswami too had become CM bypassing several senior AIADMK leaders.
On accusations levelled by Palaniswami regarding the importance being given to Udhayanidhi, the latter said, “He is free to criticise me. I have always welcomed criticism. He has more political experience than me, so I respect his right to criticise.”
Commenting on the AIADMK government under Palaniswami, Udhayanidhi said their priority was to share power among themselves to protect the government. “After losing power, the party fragmented into multiple groups,” he said.