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Chennai: It is part of protocol for the chief minister to be present when the Prime Minister is attending an official programme in his/her state. On Sunday, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin chose to stay away from the inauguration ceremony of the New Pamban Bridge and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the opportunity to lambast him on the issue of language.
The Prime Minister said that he receives letters from several leaders from Tamil Nadu, but none of these bear their signatures in Tamil.
“The Government is constantly working to ensure that the Tamil language and Tamil heritage reach every corner of the world. Sometimes, I am surprised when I receive letters from some leaders of Tamil Nadu. None of them are signed in Tamil. If we are proud of Tamil, then I would request everyone to at least sign their names in Tamil,” Modi said at Rameswaram after the inauguration of the bridge.
Modi himself signs in Hindi.
Stalin has been engaged in a war of words with the Centre over the proposed teaching of Hindi as a third language in Tamil Nadu schools. This is part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The Tamil Nadu chief minister has called this an effort to impose Hindi on the state and a measure to threaten the Tamil language and culture. He has also accused the Centre of holding back funds that are due to the state, as a form of punishment.
“I would urge the Tamil Nadu government to start medical courses in the Tamil language so that even the children of poor families can fulfill their dream of becoming doctors. Our effort is to ensure that the youth of our country do not have to travel abroad to become doctors. In the last 10 years, Tamil Nadu has got 11 new medical colleges,” the Prime Minister said.
Stalin was in the Nilgiris during the event. Addressing a rally at Ooty, he called to the Centre not to punish Tamil Nadu and other states for adopting population control measures. The Prime Minister should assure that these states are not penalised during the impending delimitation exercise.
“The share of Parliamentary seats of these states should remain unchanged, in percentage terms,” Stalin, who has set up a Joint Action Committee on the delimitation process, said.
The Prime Minister, however, dismissed allegations that Tamil Nadu has been deprived of development funds.
“The infrastructure of Tamil Nadu is a top priority for the Government. In the past decade, the state’s railway budget allocation has increased more than sevenfold. Despite this significant increase, some people continue to complain without justification. Before 2014, only Rs 900 crore used to be allocated every year. This year, Tamil Nadu’s railway budget has exceeded Rs 6,000 crore. In addition, the Government is modernising 77 railway stations in the state, including the one at Rameswaram, Modi added.
