Nadda lashes out at DMK; says it incites people, shelters those not working for national interest

DMK President M K Stalin told Nadda "your party is the sole enemy of Tamil culture and India's integrity." Nadda appealed to his party members to give a befitting reply to the Dravidian party in the Assembly election due next year. Attacking the Stalin-led party, Nadda said DMK has always been "inciting feelings against national spirit" and on a lookout to see to it that "national mainstream assimilation formation is always disrupted." Addressing the state BJP's executive committee meeting via video conferencing from New Delhi, Nadda alleged the DMK was always "anti-development" and against the interest of the nation.

BJP national president J P Nadda on Monday assailed the opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu, accusing it of being a "sheltering ground for people not working in the interest of the nation" and "always inciting feelings against the national spirit," but was strongly rebuked by the Dravidian party. DMK President M K Stalin told Nadda "your party is the sole enemy of Tamil culture and India's integrity." Nadda appealed to his party members to give a befitting reply to the Dravidian party in the Assembly election due next year.

Attacking the Stalin-led party, Nadda said DMK has always been "inciting feelings against national spirit" and on a lookout to see to it that "national mainstream assimilation formation is always disrupted." Addressing the state BJP's executive committee meeting via video conferencing from New Delhi, Nadda alleged the DMK was always "anti-development" and against the interest of the nation. "In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has been a sheltering ground for people not working in the interest of the nation. You should see to it that we give a befitting reply to the people who are working against the interest of the nation," he said.

Others too should ensure that the divisive forces do not get strengthened in Tamil Nadu, Nadda added. Referring to YouTube channel Karuppar Kootam allegedly denigrating 'Kanda Shashti Kavacham,' sung in praise of Lord Murugan, Nadda said the enlightened people of Tamil Nadu agitated against the outfit.

In a sharp retort to Nadda, DMK chief Stalin said that the BJP was "unnecessarily teasing" his party due to the "arrogance" of power. DMK was a democratic organisation and had even stood up during the Emergency, with many of its senior leaders carrying the "scars" of the then stringent Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), he said.

"Today, the country has been pushed to an undeclared emergency," Stalin alleged. "Human rights are snatched away. India's plurality is being damaged. Attempts are being made to impose one language (apparently Hindi), efforts are on to compromise with social justice, political leaders are put under house arrest (in J&K), social activists-thinkers are detained under stringent legal Acts," he said.

As the "third largest" party in the Lok Sabha, the DMK was duty-bound to question these and also has a 'right,' Stalin said in a statement. Further, the BJP-led Centre was trying to "impose" Hindi on Tamil Nadu and the BJP was therefore "against the culture" of the state, he alleged.

"Terming DMK as anti-development and alleging it was inciting feelings against national spirit only shows BJP's inability," he said. Meanwhile, the BJP Executive committee slammed the DMK over the 'Karuppar Kootam' episode and alleged that one of its arrested members was linked to the Tamil Nadu party and that it has not denied reports in this regard.

Stalin was "adamant" in not greeting people during Hindu festivals, it said and appealed to the public to boycott the DMK-led coalition in the 2021 Assembly polls. Earlier, Nadda exuded confidence that in the coming times, the BJP will have a substantial share in municipal and Assembly elections in the state, and appealed to the party members to increase the vote share in Tamil Nadu.

"Tamil Nadu is a land of temples, very rich culture, architectural beauty, full of revolutionaries, freedom fighters, legendary administrators and worldwide known entrepreneurs. I bow to the people of Tamil Nadu for the rich culture they have," he said. Without mentioning anyone, he said Tamil Nadu, which has been talking about Tamil language "for long" should realise that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to encourage education through one's mother tongue.

The NEP 2020 has come under attack from political parties, including DMK, for alleged "imposition of Hindi," even as the ruling AIADMK has made it clear the state will only follow the two-language system in vogue for years, and not the three-language policy, which includes Hindi, as suggested in the NEP. "I request you to talk about NEP...in independent India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dynamic rule, for the first time the government introduced an education policy which is Bharat Education Policy, reflecting the spirit of India. Do a deeper study of the NEP and see that the people of Tamil Nadu are brought into the national mainstream," Nadda urged the senior office-bearers.

As per the NEP, the medium of instruction will be in the regional language, endorsing the spirit of Bharat, so that the base of education is stronger. Exams in the current system are subjective and students memorise things and write them down. But in the NEP, a conceptual and analytical approach will be put in place, he said.

Both the rich and poor will get qualitative and affordable education. Acceptability has also been improved as local languages are set to be used as a mode of education till class VIII, he said. "The previous education policy came in 1986 and prior to it in 1968. The last time, the policy was just changed in figures and not in terms of content, policy and spirit. Now, we can say it is for the first time that India has an independent education policy," Nadda said.