Tamil actor and politician Vijay retaliated against the BJP for deflecting criticism using Periyar. He challenged the Union government’s position on Tamil and the trilingual policy while defending Periyar’s legacy on social justice.
Vijay, a Tamil film industry actor and politician, while supporting the social reformist Periyar, has accused the BJP of deploying Dravidian leader Periyar to divert criticism from the Union government’s policies. He says: “We could go on and on about how he opposed child marriage, supported widow remarriage, and opposed caste atrocities.”
“There is a reason people are still worshipping him: A century ago, he spoke of reservation for social justice, which people now speak of,” he further pointed out to emphasize Periyar’s objectives of reservation.
The leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party asked, “Is the Union Finance Minister truly offended by Periyar’s derogatory remarks about Tamil? If so, perhaps we should cease forcing Tamil Nadu to adopt the trilingual strategy.
The statement went, “Even now, Periyar is strong enough to create a storm and ward off any criticism against the Union government…,” showing that the movement is relevant even today. Isn’t that so?
Is this an explanation as to why he is still worshiped and respected in Tamil Nadu?
Escalating her assault onto DMK, Sitharaman said, “But a man who repeatedly says Tamil is a barbaric language, they keep his photograph in every room, garland him and worship him saying icon of Dravidian movement. Look at their hypocrisy.”
These comments have rekindled the dispute regarding the National Education Policy (NEP). Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused DMK for misleading Tamil Nadu students stating, “They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of students of Tamil Nadu… they are misleading the people.”
He said that at first, the DMK was for the NEP but later, for political reasons, they have backed out. However, DMK negated these charges saying, “We cannot fully accept the NEP and the three-language formula is not acceptable for Tamil Nadu.” The party also declared that the Centre could not withhold education funds on account of
