Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2026: Stalin dares EPS to back two-language policy in front of BJP’s Modi, Shah

PUDUKKOTTAI/SIVAGANGA: DMK president and chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday dared AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to declare, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, that only the two-language policy promoted by C N Annadurai will remain in Tamil Nadu?Addressing election campaigns in Pudukkottai and Sivaganga districts, Stalin said a slave cannot speak against the owner. "BJP leaders such as Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan come here and speak in favour of Hindi imposition through the three-language policy. Has EPS voiced any opposition to this? Dharmendra Pradhan does not want to develop education but instead wants to saffronise it, and because we opposed it, funds are being withheld from Tamil Nadu," he said. "Can EPS ask why there was 17% more funds allocated to Sanskrit than Tamil? Can EPS say to Amit Shah that it was wrong to call Sanskrit the source language; does he have the spine? If he wanted to stop CAA, he could have done so with his MPs. Similarly, with the Waqf Amendment Bill, he has betrayed minorities. The proposed FCRA changes are going to target Christians. Has he opposed any of this, even for the sake of the election," Stalin asked.Stalin also questioned why Prime Minister Modi, who went to Thiruparankundram, did not visit Keeladi. "Why have you not released the Keeladi excavation report? Why is Tamil historical pride bitter to you," asked Stalin.The DMK chief also took on BJP leaders from northern India for criticising the law and order situation and women's safety in TN and listed a string of crimes against women and children in the BJP-ruled states. BJP does not have the right to speak about women's safety in Tamil Nadu, where women can travel safely even at midnight, Stalin said.Stalin said the DMK has several achievements to showcase. "But EPS has neither ideology nor achievements. That is why he continues to stoop low by making slanderous remarks. He is not Palaniswami, but 'Aama Swami' and 'Adimai Swami'. They have become subservient to a party that is betraying Tamil Nadu and its people, in an alliance dictated from Delhi," he said.To questions from reporters about Vijay, Stalin, without naming the actor-turned-politician, said DMK is not concerned about anyone entering the battle.Earlier, in an interview to PTI, Stalin exuded confidence and predicted a landslide victory for the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance. He dismissed the opposition's corruption allegations as "scripted dramas" while positioning his flagship welfare schemes as the "superstars" of the election. Stalin dismissed EPS's allegations that his family was acting as a power centre as imaginary tales. On the recent entry of several AIADMK stalwarts, including former CM O Panneerselvam, into the DMK fold, he said those committed to the Dravidian ideology are returning to its fountainhead, leaving an unprincipled AIADMK to function out of the BJP's Delhi headquarters.