Centre’s dream of imposing a third language in T.N. will never come true: actor Vijay’s TVK

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam condemns Union government's interference in Tamil Nadu, criticizes DMK government, and advocates for state rights.

The dream of the Union government in imposing a third-language in Tamil Nadu, as opposed to the State’s two-language policy, will never come true, said Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Sunday (November 3, 2024).

“Earlier, they saffronised Tiruvalluvar. Then they said ‘Tamil Nadu’ and ‘Tamilagam’ are different. Then they created a controversy with ‘Tamizh Thaai Vaazhthu’ [State Anthem of Tamil Nadu]. Neither the Union government nor its representatives in the State have any rights to interfere in anything related to Tamil language,” the party said in a resolution passed at the first executive council and district level office bearers meeting, presided over by actor and TVK president Vijay, at the party’s headquarters at Panaiyur on the outskirts of Chennai.

Hitting out at the Centre and Tamil Nadu government on various issues, the party’s executing committee meeting, organised on the heels of its first State conference held on October 27, passed 26 resolutions. One of the resolutions condemned the BJP government at the Centre for its ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal calling it a “threat to democracy.”

The resolution said it is not only the duty, but the right of the opposition to stand in solidarity with people to raise their concerns against the ruling establishment. “However, attempts are being made to suppress the voices of the opposition and media by launching personal attacks due to political vendetta. The party strongly objects to such an anti-people political approach, including that of the DMK,” it said.

The Union government should formulate its foreign policy on Sri Lanka only after having due consultation with the Tamil Nadu government. The party claimed mid sea attack on Tamil fishermen increased only after Katchatheevu was handed over to Sri Lanka. Neither the Sri Lankan government had followed, nor the Indian government had pressed for implementing the guidelines of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the fishermen issue, a resolution said.

In another resolution, the party alleged the DMK government had not taken any steps to conduct caste census in the State. “People of Tamil Nadu will not believe the DMK government which claims to function on the principles of social justice. Its attempt to shift the blame on Centre for not conducting caste census will not work. Without any delay, the State government should take steps to conduct a survey that would form the basis of caste census.”

The executive council also passed a resolution targeting the Centre for “being a barrier”, and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu for its “fake promises” in bringing back Education from Concurrent List to State List. “Like Health, Education is also the right of States. The Centre should restore our rights, so that the State government would be empowered to scrap the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).” The party, in another resolution, reiterated Mr. Vijay’s earlier pitch for creating what it called a “special concurrent list” as an interim arrangement by giving more powers to States to legislate on certain subjects and transfer Education to that list.