Spirituality and politics are inseparable in Tamil Nadu, says Tamilisai Soundararajan

Tamilisai Soundararajan discusses the intertwining of spirituality and politics in Tamil Nadu, criticizing the Dravidian movement leaders.

BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday said spirituality and politics are inseparable in Tamil Nadu as the language was developed by the Alwars, not by the leaders of Dravidian movement.

“Spirituality and politics will continue to merge in Tamil Nadu. Because it was Andal [Alwar and Tamil poet-saint] who developed Tamil, not Anna [C.N. Annadurai]. Similarly, Tamil was developed by Periyazhvar, not Periyar [E.V. Ramasamy]. Anna and Periyar didn’t speak the social justice that Andal and Periyazhvar spoke,” she contended.

Responding to the remarks of Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin that she was “rejected by people in the elections”, she said “In electoral politics, there is nothing called ‘rejected by people’. I was recognised by nearly three lakh people (implying that she received nearly three lakh votes in Chennai South constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election).” She also criticised the Deputy Chief Minister’s elevation in politics, and said: “I did not come to politics on the shoulders of my father and grandfather.”

According to her, the parties of the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu will not remain intact to face the 2026 Assembly election. “[Mr.] Thirumavalavan demands for power sharing. The communists have started showing resistance as the Samsung workers protests were spearheaded by them,” she added.