Assure people Udhayanidhi won’t be CM, Goyal tells Stalin

Piyush Goyal urges CM Stalin to assure Udhayanidhi won't be Chief Minister, criticizing his remarks on Tamil culture.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Piyush Goyal, on Friday urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to assure the people that his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had criticised Tamil culture and its pride, would not be made Chief Minister of the State.

Addressing reporters, Mr. Goyal said Erode was Periyar’s soil and that Tamil language and culture, among the most ancient in the world, deserved the highest respect. He alleged that the Congress and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had treated the Sengol as a walking stick, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had restored its dignity by installing it in Parliament.

He alleged that Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin had attacked Tamil culture by stating that “just as dengue, malaria and coronavirus must be eradicated, Sanatana should also be eradicated,” and said such remarks undermined civilisational values. He also claimed that Mr. Udhayanidhi visited temples but removed the vibhuti afterwards, and sought to know what action Mr. Stalin would take.

Criticising actor Vijay, founder of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, over the film Jana Nayagan, Mr. Goyal said film certification was handled by an autonomous body and not directly controlled by the Union government. He termed the allegations against the government “immature” and said they reflected a lack of understanding of governance. Referring to actors such as Sivaji Ganesan, Vijayakanth and Kamal Haasan, he said they were accomplished in cinema but lacked administrative experience.

Mr. Goyal also criticised the DMK and the Congress, alleging that they had disrupted Parliament in the past and failed to support the women’s reservation measure. He claimed that in the upcoming election, the DMK would be voted out and the AIADMK would form the government with a two-thirds majority.

Raising the issue of drug abuse, Mr. Goyal alleged that narcotic substances had spread across rural and urban areas in the state and blamed the state government for failing to curb the menace. He said the NDA would work towards making Tamil Nadu a drug-free State.