NEW DELHI: Reacting strongly to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Vijay’s Jana Nayagan film issue where he called the denial of CBFC certification to the film as an “attack on Tamil culture”, the BJP on Wednesday dubbed the remarks “textbook example” of separatism in Indian politics.
At a media briefing at the party’s central office in New Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Dr Guru Prakash Paswan asserted the party has always stood with unwavering commitment to Tamil civilisational heritage, and took a dig at Rahul Gandhi for accusing the PM of “suppressing the voice of Tamil people”. The sensitivity shown by the PM towards Tamil language, culture and heritage over the past 11 years is “unprecedented”, Paswan said.
Highlighting how the BJP is committed towards Tamil culture, Paswan said, “The Kashi region, and the events held at the Indian Parliament, Fiji, the University of Houston, and global platform, the G20 are some of the numerous examples that show our unparalled commitment to Tamil civilisational heritage.” Paswan also urged the Congress MP to refrain from indulging in divisive politics in the name of region, language and caste, accusing him of pursuing negative politics under the guise of Tamil identity. Paswan said Rahul’s statement had no connection with reality or logic. “He has given an extremely shameful and painful statement,” Paswan said.
“When he goes to Tamil Nadu, he (Rahul Gandhi) engages in negative politics in the name of Tamil identity and works to spread frenzy. These people keep staging their political rampage sometimes in the name of caste, sometimes in the name of religion and sometimes in the name of language and identity, which is extreme height of insensitivity,” Paswan alleged.
He noted that the PM has promoted Tamil identity on global platforms and recently encouraged students in north India to learn the language during the Pariksha Pe Charcha event. In an apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi, he also charged that those with “separatist tendencies” and an “anti-national mindset” continue to engage in “political tandav” by exploiting region, language and caste.