'Will not allow religious bigotry as long as I'm alive' : TN CM Stalin

Chennai, Dec 6 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday said he was striving to create an egalitarian society through social justice and that he will not give space for religious bigotry as long as he was alive.

Though certain sections posed hurdles on the path of the ideals he was treading, he wished to remind them that Tamil Nadu was the soil of rationalist leader Periyar Ramasamy and nurtured on the principles of the architect of the Constitution B R Ambedkar.

“Your religious bigotry and casteist ideas will never be fulfilled in the land of Periyar and the state developed on the principles of Ambedkar. You will not be able to succeed as long as this Stalin exists,” the Chief Minister said while speaking at a function held here to provide modern sewage disposal vehicles to sanitation workers under a scheme to transform the conservancy workers into entrepreneurs, and also provide government welfare assistance to the beneficiaries.

The Dravidian model government was walking on the path to establishing an egalitarian society that Periyar and Ambedkar wanted to see. “The oppressed people should achieve development in all aspects, including politics and economy. That is true liberation,” Stalin said quoting Ambedkar.

Listing out various schemes launched by the DMK regime for the welfare of the SC, he said irrespective of the number of schemes, the main reason why the DMK government earned a good name was because of the dedication and service of the conservancy workers, the Chief Minister said.

“As far as I am concerned, rather than call you sanitation workers, I should say that you are pure-hearted workers. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of you,” Stalin said. PTI