Tamil a sweet language; PM wants every language to get its due respect: Union Minister Vaishnaw
Chennai, Mar 15 (PTI): Hailing Tamil as a 'sweet' language, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said it is one of the assets of the country and the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi always ensured that every Indian language gets its due respect, the Union Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology Minister said at an event near here.
Participating at the inauguration of a manufacturing factory of Zetwerk Electronics at Sriperumbudur, Vaishnaw said he was lucky as he got a professor by name Sadagopan while pursuing his academics at IIT Kanpur who taught him about the Tamil language.
Greeting the audience with a traditional 'Vanakkam' (Namaste) in Tamil language at the beginning of his speech, Vaishnaw said, "Tamil is a very very sweet language. All I know is three words -- Vanakkam, Eppadi Irukeenga (How are you) and Nandri (Thanks)."
Referring to his interaction with Sadagopan at IIT Kanpur, the Minister said, "Sadagopan introduced me to Tamil language and in North India, Tamil is generally known as masala dosa, right?. He taught me so many facets of Tamil culture.. It is a very, very deep culture, very ancient culture. We all respect Tamil culture and we all respect the Tamil language."
"This is one of our assets of our country and this is also one of the assets of the world and lets take pride in that. Let's take joy in that and let's enjoy all the Indian languages. And that is the spirit with which our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is working today making sure that every Indian language gets its big place under the Sun and make sure they get the respect which is due to them, make sure that they get the exposure," he said.
Citing an example, Vaishnaw said, "I will tell you one small thing. In the Telecom and Data Protection Laws, our Prime Minister inspired us and asked why should the Notice be only in English and why not in all Indian languages. So, taking inspiration from him, in the Law itself we have said all the languages in the Constitution must be available as a choice to the users. That is the thought process of our leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So, let's get above this and let's make sure that these things which sometimes come in the way of friendship and relationship between different civilisations, between different people and between our own brothers and sisters, those barriers should not come.
"We should all look at one big goal of making our country very very strong, making sure that we become the third largest economy. Thank you very much, rombha rombha nandri (Many Many thanks)" he said before concluding his address.
His comments come amid the ongoing language row in Tamil Nadu, where the ruling DMK has alleged imposition of Hindi by the Centre through the National Education Policy.
The union government has denied any such imposition.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
