Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a veiled dig at Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Sunday, claiming the central government provided more funds to the state than the UPA government but “some people keep crying” over it. He also questioned DMK leaders for signing off their letters in English, not in Tamil.
“Under the Modi government since 2014, we have provided funds for Tamil Nadu’s development, three times more than the INDI alliance when it was in power. The DMK was a part of the INDI alliance at that time. Tamil Nadu’s railway budget has also increased seven times. Some people have a habit of crying for no reason, they keep crying over it,” he said at a public meeting in Tamil Nadu.
The remark was a reference to chief minister MK Stalin’s letters to PM Modi asking the central government to release education funds.
Stalin, in 2024, had also sent a 15-page memorandum to the prime minister, seeking central funding for Chennai’s metro rail project, release of education scheme funds and resolution of Sri Lankan navy’s detention of Tamil fishermen.
He also criticised MK Stalin, referring to his letter, saying, “These ministers from Tamil Nadu talk about pride in their language but always write letters to me and sign off in English. Why don’t they use the Tamil language? Where is their Tamil pride?”
PM Modi, who had flagged off the first train traveling on the New Pamban Bridge earlier, also spoke about various infrastructure and development initiatives that the central government supported in Tamil Nadu.
He said, “Before 2014, Tamil Nadu would only get ₹900 crore in their railway budget every year. You are all aware of who was the main leader in the INDI alliance at the time. Today, Tamil Nadu’s railway budget is more than ₹6,000 crore.”
The prime minister added, “In Tamil Nadu, my poor brothers and sisters have received 12 lakh ‘pakka’ houses under the schemes supported by the central government. 12 crore families across India have finally got piped connections for water, out of which 1.1 crore families belong to Tamil Nadu. They have got tap water in their houses for the first time, benefiting my mothers and sisters in Tamil Nadu the most.”
Tamil Nadu’s DMK-led government and the union government have engaged in a war of words over the three-language policy under the National Education Policy 2020. Stalin has alleged that the policy amounts to “imposition of Hindi” and is an attempt to erase linguistic diversity and Tamil pride. He also alleged that the Centre had not provided the promised funds for education schemes to the state due to their refusal to implement the NEP.
