Assembly election is a battle to defeat forces out to destroy Tamil culture, says CM Stalin

The 2026 Assembly election is a battle that will vanquish political forces seeking to destroy Tamil culture and those acting as their “slaves”. And it will be an Arya-Dravidian battleground, DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Sunday (January 25, 2026).

He was speaking at an event organised by the DMK to mark the Linguistic Martyrs’ Memorial Day at Kancheepuram, the birthplace of party founder C.N. Annadurai. Mr. Stalin said that only the DMK had the spine and courage to question the BJP-led government (at the Centre) that he accused of betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu.

“How will cowards who run away and hide at the mere mention of the CBI and the ED protect the interests of Tamil Nadu? If you think you can intimidate the DMK with the help of investigation agencies functioning as mercenaries of the BJP, the party will face them with the support of the people. We will not bend. We will continue the 2,000-year-old battle to save Tamil soil, language, and pride,” he said.

Reacting to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s  remarks that the ‘Rising Sun’, the DMK’s symbol, disappeared the moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Tamil Nadu, he quipped that Mr. Palaniswami, who was always “watching the feet” — referring to his act of prostrating before Sasikala in 2017 — could not see the Sun. “At least raise your head once. You can see the existence and power of the Sun,” he said. 

The DMK leader said the imposition of Hindi was not the mere imposition of a language, but a cultural invasion. “How many languages have fallen prey to the dominance of Hindi? Tamil Nadu achieved growth because it promoted English instead of Hindi. When I said this last year, I received a good response across the country. Many people shared how their languages were destroyed by Hindi,” he said.

Claiming that “Delhi tries to invade Tamil Nadu time and again”, Mr. Stalin asked, “Is there an invasion we have not seen?” “Even if you attempt to invade innumerable times, along with betrayers, slaves and clowns, you cannot overwhelm Tamil Nadu. Let me say this firmly: the ‘double engine’ that fooled the people of north India and destroyed their livelihoods will not run in Tamil Nadu,” he said, in reference to the Prime Minister’s call for establishing the NDA’s ‘double-engine’ government in Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Stalin said the BJP, without learning any lesson from its defeat in the 2021 election, continued to ride piggyback on its “slave” AIADMK. “The Prime Minister has come. You can expect him to be here more often, as the election is round the corner,” he said, alleging that Mr. Modi had made only empty promises and the people of Tamil Nadu were tired of listening to him.

The Chief Minister said Mr. Modi had made “imaginative” claims about elections. “Mr. Prime Minister, do you remember the Lok Sabha election? You were not able to win a single seat. How many times did you come here to campaign? Yet, the people gave you a total defeat as the prize,” he said.

Responding to Mr. Modi’s allegation that Tamil Nadu was facing a drug menace, Mr. Stalin said that according to Union government data, drugs worth ₹11,311 crore, smuggled through ports, had been seized, and most of the seizures had taken place at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra. “Who is ruling these States? The ‘double engine’ — known as the ‘dabba engine’ — runs there. Preventing drug trafficking is the responsibility of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister; it is not Stalin’s duty. Is it fair to raise this issue at Madurantakam instead of in Maharashtra,” he asked.