I removed tweet as opposition started politicising it: TN CM on language row

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday (June 6) said that he removed the tweet which demanded the inclusion of Tamil as an optional language in northern states since the Opposition parties started politicising it.

Palaniswami was in Coimbatore on Thursday to inaugurate an escalated bridge in Salem. Addressing the media at airport, he said that during her tenure as chief minister, J Jayalalithaa had laid stones for the escalated bridge in order to curb traffic snarls. “I am inaugurating a part of the bridge tomorrow (June 7),” he said.—

Speaking about the water scarcity issue, the Chief Minister said that the state is witnessing a drought-like situation since the monsoon is playing truant. “However, the government has allocated considerable budget to address the water scarcity,” he added.

When asked about the Cauvery issue, the Chief Minister said that during the parliamentary election campaign in Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said that if he became the prime minister he will dismiss the Cauvery Water Management Authority and build the Mekedatu dam.

“But none of the Opposition parties had the courage to question Rahul. That apart, we expect that Karnataka will release the due water to us in this month, so that we can have Kuruvai season,” he added.

He also demanded the Tamil Nadu Congress leaders to urge the Karnataka Congress government to release water from Cauvery.

Responding to a query on why the vote-share of the AIADMK has decreased in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, Palaniswami said that it was because the ruling party gave half of the seats to its allies. “So, it is natural that our vote share decreased,” he said.

He also criticised the Opposition’s victory by saying that they won because of promises that are impossible to implement, like waiving educational and agricultural loans. “It was not a victory in true sense” he said.

Replying to a question on his recent tweet over the controversial three language formula proposed by the Kasturirangan Committee, he asked, what was wrong in requesting to include Tamil as one of the optional languages in the northern states.

“We put forward the demand for the benefit of the Tamils who had migrated from the state, and whose children are studying in schools across India without an opportunity to learn their mother tongue,” he said, adding, “The opposition parties have interpreted it in a wrong way and politicised it. That is why I removed the tweet.”

The Chief Minister further reiterated that the decision to release the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts lies with the Governor.