Chennai, Oct 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Tamil language and culture, invoked ‘Thirukkural’ and pledged to take forward Tamil Nadu’s progress by working with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who asserted that the union and state governments working in tandem was imperative so that the people benefit.
During the PM’s maiden visit to Tamil Nadu post the April Assembly polls, his bonhomie with CM Vijay was in full display. Twice Modi ensured that the two jointly inaugurated the scheduled projects. Vijay received the PM on his arrival here, as well as saw him off when Modi returned to Delhi.
Modi, who during his one-day visit to the state, inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for a slew of projects totally worth about Rs 13,000 crore. He travelled on a Metrorail with CM Vijay.
In his official address at the event, CM Vijay sought steps to make Tamil the principal language of the Madras High Court and requested the release of outstanding central funds amounting to Rs 5,110 crore under the SSA scheme without any conditions.
“When the union and state governments work together, its benefit should directly reflect in the lives of the people, and that is our approach,” Vijay, also the founder-chief of ruling TVK, fresh from the victory in bypolls to two Assembly constituencies, said.
“Our government has transformed the political landscape and ushered in a new political chapter having successfully completed more than 100 days; we are striving to establish a corruption-free and transparent administration rooted in social justice,” he said, outlining the ancient culture and language of Tamil Nadu and its people and his regime’s guiding principle of equality and inclusiveness.
The CM unveiling his government’s approach of cooperating with the Centre comes against the background of the previous DMK regime’s strained ties with the Union government and the office of the Governor over several issues, including NEET.
Among other things, Vijay requested early sanction for Phase-3 of the Chennai Metro project proposed to cover about 65 km to further improve connectivity and reconsider the proposal for Metrorail in Coimbatore and Madurai, and an inter-state Metrorail line from Hosur in Tamil Nadu to Bommasandra near Bengaluru in Karnataka.
He also urged for a high-speed rail corridor from Chennai to Kanyakumari and Chennai to Coimbatore.
The PM, while flagging off the new Metro train and also during the inauguration of projects, ensured that Vijay joined him and though they interacted briefly during official events, a sense of bonhomie was evident as the CM joined Modi in his visit to a temple as well.
In his official address, Modi, outlining his overall 25 years of service as head of government, which includes his stint as Gujarat CM, said that during this long period, his faith in two strengths of democracy has continuously grown stronger.
“First – the people of the country. Second – cooperative federalism. I have always followed the mantra that the development of the nation comes through the development of the states. As chief minister, I personally understood the expectations of states. Therefore, after becoming prime minister, I not only tried to fulfil those aspirations, but also made every effort to ensure that every state could achieve its own aspirational goals,” PM Modi said.
Referring to Tamil Nadu, he said when he was CM, he got the opportunity to interact with late leaders M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa when they headed the state. And, after becoming prime minister, he could work with former CMs O Panneerselvam, Edappadi K Palaniswami and M K Stalin.
“Governments may change, but my resolve for Tamil Nadu’s development, serving its people remains steadfast. With this determination to serve people, together with CM Vijay, we are taking forward the development of the state,” he said.
Vijay had ushered in his maiden government by winning the April Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
Later, addressing students during the golden jubilee celebrations of Jaigopal Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya here, Modi recalled his yatra decades ago, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and said it provided him rich experience of the nation’s diveristy which shaped his love for the Tamil language and its culture.
He encouraged students to discover India and carry Tamil culture wherever they went and asked them to share Tamil poetry, stories and traditions with friends, who may be from diverse backgrounds.
The PM appreciated Tamil language and culture and hailed the ancient Tamil classic ‘Thirukkural’ as a great guide for life.
He recalled a memorable past moment when he had the privilege of gifting this masterpiece to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Recently, I gifted Putin a Russian edition of the Thirukkural. The Thirukkural is a unique guide for those who wish to continue learning throughout their lives. Thiruvalluvar, through a famous Kural (couplet), teaches us that learning something new is not enough. We must also put that learning into practice. This is an important lesson for all students,” Modi said.
Also, he paid glowing tributes to the legendary national poet Mahakavi Bharati, highlighting the poet’s enduring impact, and noted that the people of Varanasi still fondly remember Bharati’s inspiring verse ‘Achamillai’ (there is no fear), which continues to encourage people to live courageously and fearlessly.
The PM visited the IIT-Madras campus and its brain research centre and offered worship at a temple on the campus.
The prime minister inaugurated the Poonamallee-Vadapalani Stretch of Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project built at a cost of around Rs 4,900 crore.
He also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated National Highway projects, Amrit railway stations, several port-related initiatives and the Group II/III Lube Oil Base Stocks (LOBS) project at the existing Manali Refinery of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) in Chennai.
Earlier, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami was among those who received the PM at the airport when he landed here to attend the events. PTI JR JSP VGN ADB KH ROH VGN SA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.