J P Nadda lashes out at DMK; says it incites people, shelters anti-nationals

PTI, Aug 24, 2020, 6:23 PM IST

Chennai: BJP national president J P Nadda on Monday assailed the opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu accusing it of being a “sheltering ground for people not working in the interest of the nation” and “always inciting feelings against the national spirit.”

He appealed to his party members to give a befitting reply to the party in the Assembly election due next year.

Attacking the M K Stalin-led party, Nadda said DMK has always been “inciting feelings against the national spirit” and on a lookout to see to it that “national mainstream assimilation formation is always disrupted.”

Addressing the state BJP’s executive meeting via video conferencing from New Delhi, Nadda alleged the DMK was always “anti-development” and against the interest of the nation.

“In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has been a sheltering ground for people not working in the interest of the nation. You should see to it that we give a befitting reply to the people who are working against the interest of the nation,” he said.

Others too should ensure that the divisive forces do not get strengthened in Tamil Nadu, Nadda added.

Referring to YouTube channel Karuppar Kootam allegedly denigrating ‘Kanda Shashti Kavacham,’ sung in praise of Lord Murugan, Nadda said the enlightened people of Tamil Nadu agitated against the outfit.

The saffron party’s national president exuded confidence that in the coming times, the BJP will have a substantial share in municipal and Assembly elections in the state, and appealed to the party members to increase the vote share in Tamil Nadu.

“Tamil Nadu is a land of temples, very rich culture, architectural beauty, full of revolutionaries, freedom fighters, legendary administrators and worldwide known entrepreneurs. I bow to the people of Tamil Nadu for the rich culture they have,” he said.

Without mentioning anyone, he said Tamil Nadu which has been talking about the Tamil language “for long” should realise that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to encourage education through one’s mother tongue.

The NEP 2020 has come under attack from political parties including DMK for alleged “imposition of Hindi,” even as the ruling AIADMK has made it clear the state will only follow the two-language system in vogue for years, and not the three-language policy, which includes Hindi, as suggested in the NEP.

“I request you to talk about NEP…in independent India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dynamic rule, for the first time the government introduced an education policy which is Bharat Education Policy, reflecting the spirit of India. Do a deeper study of the NEP and see that the people of Tamil Nadu are brought into the national mainstream,” Nadda urged the senior office-bearers.

As per the NEP, the medium of instruction will be in the regional language, endorsing the spirit of Bharat, so that the base of education is stronger.

Exams in the current system are subjective and students memorise things and write them down. But in the NEP, a conceptual and analytical approach will be put in place, he said.

Both the rich and poor will get a qualitative and affordable education. Acceptability has also been improved as local languages are set to be used as a mode of education till class VIII, he said.

“The previous education policy came in 1986 and prior to it in 1968. The last time, the policy was just changed in figures and not in terms of content, policy and spirit. Now, we can say, it is for the first time that India has an independent education policy,” Nadda said.

Urging party members to put in place a mechanism to win elections, Nadda advised them to form a WhatsApp group at the booth committee level and further strengthen the IT site.

The speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the party and BJP’s achievements could be shared in the WhatsApp and IT groups in the regional language.

Further, the state unit of the BJP should develop good content to counter elements like Karuppar Kootam and disseminate information on the NEP in Tamil.

Thirdly, these groups should discuss national, regional and local issues, the BJP national president said.

“We should emphasise on youth, women, tribal people, Dalits and people at the grassroots and try and bring them to the mainstream,” he said, adding, there should be special efforts and drives for empowering them.

With a grand temple for Lord Ram coming up in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and revocation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir, the party members could now highlight that India is one from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, he said.

Recalling the efforts of Modi in leading the nation in the fight against COVID-19, he said the PM took a bold and timely decision to prepare the nation and 130 crore Indians to fight the pandemic, apparently referring to the lockdown in March.

He ensured that 50,000 ventilators were manufactured in India and are in service today. As a result of Modi’s initiatives, India, today has over 1,500 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, from zero when the pandemic started.

Over 12.5 lakh Covid-19 dedicated beds are also available today.

“India had no facility to make PPE kits and by encouraging local entrepreneurs, we are producing five lakh PPE kits daily,” he said.

He claimed that the lockdown was practically a lockdown for political parties but for the BJP in Tamil Nadu it continued to work for the needy and ensured that everyone got what they needed.