People speaking different languages must nurture good ties: Karunanidhi

People speaking different languages should nurture a good relationship with speakers of other languages instead of trying to dominate them, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said on Sunday.

Speaking at a function organised to felicitate the construction labourers of the new Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly-Secretariat Complex, Mr. Karunanidhi said: “We do not like speakers of one language dominating other languages.”

Referring to a query by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, on Hindi songs being played at the function, Mr. Karunanidhi said: “Hindi is all right for songs, but not needed for Tamil Nadu.”

Mr. Karunanidhi pointed to the fact that a chunk of the labourers were from Hindi-speaking States such as Bihar. They enjoyed Tamil songs also, he said.

He thanked the labourers for their contribution to the construction of one of the wonderful structures in the country.

Frequent visits

Mr. Karunanidhi acknowledged that his frequent visits to the construction site probably made the task of the labourers more demanding and was also a factor of annoyance for them. The focus of the visits was only on making the building a better one, he said. However, this Himalayan structure had attracted the admiration of people up to the Himalayas because of the contribution of the people, said Mr. Karunanidhi.

Mr. Karunanidhi distributed food packets to the labourers and presented mementos to important contributors who played a key role in the construction.