I decided to safeguard the traditions of Thirupparankundram temple, says Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Sunday justified his government’s stand on the Thirupparankundram deepam row saying he had decided to safeguard the traditions of the hill temple in Madurai.

Through a video message disseminated by the DMK, Mr. Stalin sought to explain how his government took a stand in the  Thirupparankundram temple issue.

“I decided to safeguard the traditions of the Thirupparankundram temple. I did not do so as a religious leader, but as a Chief Minister. I firmly believe personal faith should not bow down to politics,” Mr. Stalin said in the video clipping.

Rationality was not something that needed to keep fighting with faith, Mr. Stalin said and contended: “Both are two faces of the same society. The friendship between Periyar (E.V. Ramasamy) and Adigalar is proof of that.”

In politics, Mr. Stalin said his goal was to unite everyone. “We may have different beliefs, but we live in the same land. We speak the same language. We walk towards the same future. That is the throbbing pulse of the Dravidian movement.”

He also reiterated his government’s position on upholding the two-language policy. “The importance given to Hindi language has not only belittled other languages, but has destroyed them too,” he said.

“The BJP government not only seeks to make Hindi the official language but also the language of authority in this country. They ordered us to teach three languages to our children. Impossible! We will safeguard two — Tamil and English. There is no change on that front. Our mother tongue is our soul. English is our window to the world. We will safeguard both,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Stalin said, “Fighting the Governor is the first chapter of every welfare scheme we implement,” and underlined, “as far as the Dravidian model goes, this is a non-negotiable price.” Hailing his late father and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi as a “great personality”, Mr. Stalin said: “I cannot write like him. Neither can I orate like him. But what can I do? I can work like him. I can work for the people. For now, that is enough.” 

Referring to attempts to test him and his party, Mr. Stalin said: “Our sweat and tears went into constructing this Dravidian model. We will safeguard it. We will protect Tamil lives and improve them with our schemes. We will safeguard the Tamil language, which keeps our hearts beating. Not just today, but forever!”