Thiruchengode MLA E.R. Eswaran, whose comments in the Assembly hailing the absence of the slogan Jai Hind in the Governor’s address triggered a row, on Friday said his remarks were based on the “two-language policy” and had nothing to do with patriotism.
Participating in the proceedings of the Assembly session that concluded on Thursday, Mr. Eswaran had noted that unlike the Governor’s address last year, after the DMK government assumed office, Jai Hind was not said by the Governor while concluding his address.
BJP State vice-president K. Annamalai tweeted that the political discourse in Tamil Nadu had hit a low.
On Friday, Mr. Eswaran, leader of the KMDK, told journalists in Namakkal that his comments were language-based, but some people were trying to distort it.
He said some individuals were trying to confuse the people and were linking it to [question his] patriotism.
Mr. Eswaran said during the Governor’s address in the AIADMK regime, even though the speech would mention that the two-language policy would be implemented, it would conclude with Jai Hind .
“The new government is also firm on the two-language policy, hence they did not conclude the Governor’s address with the Hindi slogan Jai Hind .Having mentioned the two-language policy, the Governor’s address [during the AIADMK regime] should have concluded with Bharatham Vazhaga in Tamil. I only compared [the speeches] for the use of Hindi,” he said.
He added that it was sad that people were trying to misrepresent the issue and were using it for their politics. The comments made by people like Mr. Annamalai, despite understanding the issue, were unacceptable, he said.
He said he had also spoken about the language issue during a debate on a private television news channel on the day of the Governor’s address. The KMDK leader said he was no less a patriot than anyone.
