Chennai PTI): DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday hailed the "Languge Martyrs" of the state who sacrificied their lives during the anti-Hindi agitation in the past and asserted that there was "no place" for the language here forever.
Paying tributes on the occasion of Language Martyrs Day, he said, "a state that loved its language like its life, unitedly struggled against Hindi imposition; protested with the same intensity every time it was imposed."
"Language Martyrs Day; there is no place for Hindi then, now and forever (in TN)," the Dravidian party chief said in a social media post.
He shared a brief video of the history related to the anti-Hindi agitation, which peaked during 1965, that included references to the 'martyrs,' besides the contributions of late DMK stalwarts, CN Annadurai and M Karunanidhi in the language issue.
Tamil Nadu, by leading the anti-Hindi agitation, "safeguarded the right and identity of various linguistic national races in the sub-continent," Stalin added.
"I pay my grateful respects to those martyrs who gave their precious lives for Tamil. No more life will be lost in the language war; our love for Tamil will never die! We shall oppose Hindi imposition forever. #LanguageMartyrsDay #StopHindiImposition," the CM said.
Language Martyrs is a reference to those who had sacrificed their lives, mainly by self-immolation, during the anti-Hindi agitation across Tamil Nadu in 1964-65.
Till this day, the southern state follows the Two Language formula--Tamil and English, even as the DMK has been alleging Hindi imposition through the Centre's NEP 2020.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): TVK chief Vijay launched a scathing attack on the ruling DMK during a campaign rally in Tirunelveli, alleging that if Chief Minister M K Stalin had "full powers", the event would not have happened.
"The CM would have put some kind of obstacle and prevented us from coming. But now, this is a "caretaker government," as it is called, and he's a CM without authority," Vijay said.
Dubbing the DMK-led bloc a "cash-box alliance", the actor-turned-politician alleged it was formed using "looted" money. He claimed the constituent parties lack internal unity, stating that "people in the alliance won't even cast vote for each other".
Taking a swipe at the grand old party, Vijay alleged that the DMK had "pocketed" the Tamil Nadu Congress by "giving crores". However, he asserted that the "real Congress" stands on the TVK's side.
Characterising his party's deep connection with its cadres, Vijay remarked, "This might be just an election for others, but for those with TVK, this is an emotion."
