T-shirts not enough to develop Tamil language, says Vanathi Srinivasan

In response to a question on t-shirts worn by Tamil cinema celebrities with slogans opposing the alleged Hindi imposition, the BJP State Vice President said Opposition parties must “do something constructive” for the benefit of Tamil

A file photograph of Vanathi Srinivasan

Wearing t-shirts against the alleged Hindi imposition is not enough to develop the Tamil language, asserted BJP State Vice President Vanathi Srinivasan, in Tiruppur, on Monday.

In response to a question on t-shirts worn by Tamil cinema celebrities with slogans opposing the alleged Hindi imposition, she said that the Opposition parties must “do something constructive” for the benefit of the Tamil language. Claiming that the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) will provide an opportunity for students in government schools to learn an additional language, Ms. Srinivasan accused the Opposition parties of “instigating language politics” ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. “The BJP also admits that imposing any language is wrong,” she said.

Ms. Srinivasan petitioned Tiruppur Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan on Monday to investigate the irregularities in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. Noting that thousands of ineligible beneficiaries have received ₹2,000 under this scheme in Cuddalore and Villupuram districts, she said that Mr. Vijayakarthikeyan has assured her that the verification process was started 10 days ago for Tiruppur district. “Even if Re. 1 goes to an ineligible beneficiary, the State government must consider that as an irregularity,” Ms. Srinivasan said.

As part of the BJP's State-wide initiative of petitioning District Collectors regarding the PM-KISAN scheme, BJP State President of the Agricultural Wing, G.K. Nagaraj, petitioned Coimbatore District Collector K. Rajamani on Monday.

“We have asked the Collector to maintain a vigil on all the e-seva centres,” he told The Hindu . Noting that the Central government allocated nearly ₹4,000 crore for 45 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu to benefit under the PM-KISAN scheme, he said that severe action must be initiated against the officials involved in this scam in any district.

Mr. Nagaraj claimed that complaints of irregularities in this scheme have surfaced in Coimbatore district and that the BJP Agricultural Wing will further investigate these complaints. The Tamil Nadu BJP will organise State-wide agitations if no action is taken in this regard, Mr. Nagaraj said.