Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu government amid a pitched battle over the Centre’s three-language policy and said that all ministers in the southern state signed letters to him in English despite “saying they were proud of the Tamil language”, as he inaugurated the new Pamban Bridge to link Rameshwaram island with mainland India.
The central government is working to ensure that the Tamil language and Tamil heritage reach every corner of the world, he said, and urged the state government to begin medical courses in the language.
“I am surprised when I receive letters from some leaders of Tamil Nadu; none of them are signed in the Tamil language. If you are proud of Tamil, then I would request everyone to at least sign your name in Tamil,” Modi told a gathering of over 20,000 in Rameshwaram. He laid the foundation stone for a raft of rail and road projects worth over ₹8,300 crore as well.
The Prime Minister said the central government, under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had significantly increased funding for the state.
“Yet, some people have a habit of complaining without reason; they keep crying about things,” he said, a likely reference to the DMK’s allegations that the Centre was withholding funds for the state.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, who skipped the event in Rameshwaram, called on Modi to promise states that have successfully controlled population growth that they will not be “penalised” in the delimitation exercise, which is scheduled to be held in 2026.
“Standing on Tamil soil, the Prime Minister must give a clear guarantee: ‘Tamil Nadu and other states that have successfully controlled population growth will not be penalised in the impending delimitation exercise. Their share of parliamentary seats in percentage terms will remain untouched’,” he said on X.
The comments came against the backdrop of a spiralling row between the DMK and the BJP over the language issue and the scheduled delimitation exercise.
Tamil Nadu has strongly opposed the New Education Policy, and said the three-language policy is a tactic to impose Hindi in a state with a strong regional identity. Stalin and Union ministers, including Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan, have sparred repeatedly over language and the implementation of NEP in the state. Language has long been an emotive issue for the state that was rocked by anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s. The issue also rocked Parliament repeatedly.
Delimitation, which redefines the number of representatives a state sends to the Lok Sabha based on population, has also been a severely vexed issue between the Centre and the state.
A 2019 analysis by Milan Vaishnaw and Jamie Hintson of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace projected that such an exercise could see the overall strength of the Lok Sabha rising to 848, with Uttar Pradesh alone seeing its tally increase from the current 80 to 143 by 2026. In contrast, Tamil Nadu, which currently sends 39 representatives, could see the number rise to just 49.
Shah has sought to allay fears about seats, saying southern states will get a fair share of seats in the delimitation exercise, even as Stalin has called the impending exercise “a sword hanging over the southern states”.
Modi, who was flanked by Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of state L Murugan and state ministers Thangam Thennarasu and RS Rajakannappan, pointed out that since he became Prime Minister in 2014, his government has given Tamil Nadu three times the central funds than the state received when the DMK was part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
“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,” Modi said amid Tamil Nadu’s charge that the Centre is withholding funds in education for not accepting NEP and has kept funds pending for infrastructure projects and restoration work post disasters.
Before 2014, Tamil Nadu got ₹900 crore in the annual railway budget, but now the state gets more than ₹6,000 crore, he added.
Addressing the gathering, Modi said the development of rail and road projects will significantly boost connectivity in Tamil Nadu.
The PM said, “The new Pamban bridge to Rameswaram symbolises the union of technology and tradition.” He emphasised that a town thousands of years old is now connected by a 21st-century engineering marvel.
“Tamil Nadu’s infrastructure is a top priority for the government of India,” Modi said.
Modi talked up the country’s infrastructure growth under his government.
“In the past 10 years, India has doubled the size of its economy…in the last decade, the budget for infrastructure such as railways, roads, airports, ports, electricity, water, and gas pipelines has increased nearly sixfold,” he said.
He also said India has such engineering marvels boosting connectivity in all the four corners of the country. He said, “In the North, the Chenab Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the world’s tallest rail bridges, has been constructed, in the West, Mumbai has the country’s longest sea bridge, the Atal Setu, in the East, Assam has the Bogibeel Bridge while in the South, the Pamban Bridge, one of the world’s few vertical lift bridges, has been now been completed.”
Modi also said that the security of fisherpeople is a top priority for his government.
“Through the dedicated efforts of the Indian government, over 3,700 fishermen have been successfully repatriated from Sri Lanka over the past decade,” Modi said. “More than 600 fishermen were freed in just the last year. Some of our fishermen even faced capital punishment but we saved them and brought them back to the country.”
Stalin wrote to him to speak to the neighbouring country’s government to ensure that all imprisoned fishers were released along with their boats on a goodwill basis.
Stalin, who was in the hill town of Udhagamandalam to inaugurate a government hospital, said he had informed the PM about his inability to attend the latter’s programme in Rameswaram.
At the event, Stalin said: “You (Modi) should also ensure that a resolution in this regard is passed in the Parliament. This (delimitation) not only leads to a reduction of Parliamentary seats, it is our right to ask and at the same time, it is also a cause of worry about our future.”
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram refuted the Prime Minister’s claims about central funding.
“The GDP’s size is bigger now than before. The size of the central Budget is bigger every year than in the previous year. Government’s total expenditure is bigger every year than in the previous year. You are one year older than in the previous year. In terms of ‘numbers’, the number will be bigger, but is it higher in teems of proportion of GDP or in terms of proportion of total expenditure?” he said on X.
Meanwhile, Stalin’s absence kicked off a political row, with Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai calling it an insult.
“The CM has failed to do his duty, should have given the due respect to the PM. The chief minister has insulted the Prime Minister, who came for the sake of the people of Tamil Nadu. He should apologise to the people of Tamil Nadu. He is doing politics by speaking about delimitation,” said the BJP leader.
At Udhagamandalam, Stalin said, “We have sought an appointment to present the memorandum on the delimitation… Since I am taking part in this government function, I have conveyed to the PM about my inability to take part in his meeting and deputed our ministers Thangam Thennarasu and Raja Kannappan. Through this meeting and through you, I hereby seek the Prime Minister to allay the fears of delimitation,” Stalin said earlier in the day.
Responding, Annamalai said, “The reason is not acceptable. He knows about the PM’s arrival, as the discussions were happening for long. The Prime Minister did not go to New Delhi directly from Sri Lanka but came here to dedicate projects.”