CHENNAI: TNCC president and Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore on Sunday said he was not invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official event for the inauguration of the Tirumangalam-Kollam highway project, part of which comes under his constituency. He also asked how BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, who does not hold any elected position, was seated on the stage alongside the prime minister.
In a video message, Manickam Tagore further questioned the absence of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari from the inauguration of such a major project. “This is an official central government function. Normally, such events follow a protocol under which only the local MLA, ministers or the local MP appear on stage,” he said.
Expressing surprise that Nagenthran who contested and lost the last election was seated on the stage, Tagore said, “I do not understand on what protocol basis he was seated there. How can PM Modi seat someone who is not an elected representative on his stage?”
In a separate social media post, Tagore accused Modi of Hindi imposition, contrasting the PM’s speech in Hindi at a Tamil Nadu event with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s address in English during his visit to the state on Saturday. He said Tamil Nadu takes pride in its language, culture and identity and would not accept the imposition of one language on speakers of other languages. “Learning a language is an individual choice; imposing a language is a political agenda,” he added.