Ugadi 2024: Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin Extends Wishes, Emphasizes Protection of Linguistic & Political Rights:

On the eve of Ugadi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin congratulated the Telugu and Kannada speaking citizens adding that this New year should inspire people to safeguard their language and political rights.

The DMK government, and in particular M K Stalin, has always been supportive of the linguistic minorities in the state and as such, has treated Telugu and Kannada speakers as friends.

Stalin praised his late father, M Karunanidhi, for granting a holiday during Ugadi back in 2006 after the holiday was stripped away by the AIADMK government. As president of DMK he said, "It was the DMK who restored the privilege of a holiday."

Stalin cited the Fair Delimitation meeting he organized in the city when he said, "We expressed solidarity on March 22 when the southern states were facing the threat from the delimitation exercise. The support toward our initiative keeps increasing every day."

One of the primary causes for the development of the southern regions’ economy today is the language battle that the DMK fought against the enforcement of Hindi over fifty years ago. “Now once again there is a purposeful effort to obliterate that progress and our identity by enforcing the use of Hindi. You ought to make your children appreciate the beauty of their mother tongue,” the chief minister said.

He underscored the need to prepare the next generation to defend against the social, cultural, and political encroachments of the South. “This is my appeal and request to you on the occasion of my Ugadi New Year,” he remarked.

“Happy Ugadi to all my Telugu and Kannada sisters and brothers who start the New Year with an excitement of Ugadi Pachadi, mango leaf thoranam (toran), and with Rangoli. Let us make this Ugadi festival a point of motivation to defend our languages and political rights,” he said, the CM added.

All those celebrating the New Year with joy, Telugu and Kannada speakers, received commemorative greetings from the former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami as he offered his congratulatory emotion on this festivity.

He stated, “It is a matter of pride for Tamil Nadu that the people live with a sense of ‘belongingness’ irrespective of the linguistic borders and it is a matter of pride that Telugu and Kannada speaking people have been residing in Tamil Nadu for hundreds of years. He further wished the people best of luck in their efforts towards having a better life.”