AIADMK, PMK oppose Stalin's decision to revert Tamil Nadu Day to July 18

The ruling DMK said that the state's Formation Day will be celebrated on July 18, in line with the rechristening of Madras Presidency as Tamil Nadu on July 18, 1967.
CM MK Stalin and PMK founder S Ramadoss
CM MK Stalin and PMK founder S Ramadoss
Written by:

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss and the AIADMK have opposed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin’s move to celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on July 18. The CM had reversed a previous AIADMK government's decision in 2019, which changed Tamil Nadu Day to November 1, marking when the linguistic reorganisation of states took place on that day in 1956.

The ruling DMK on Saturday, October 30, said the state's Formation Day will be celebrated on July 18, in line with the rechristening of Madras Presidency as Tamil Nadu on July 18, 1967.

The decision has however drawn flak from the PMK and AIADMK. Ramadoss said that it was 11 years after the states were reorganised, that a resolution for renaming the state was passed in the Assembly and it came into effect only on January 14, 1969

“Birthdays can be celebrated only on the date of birth and not on the naming day or on the day on which a name was proposed,” he said.

He added that it has been 66 years since Tamil Nadu state was reorganised, 52 years since it was renamed, and 54 years since the name Tamil Nadu was proposed, and there will be confusion now regarding the date when the state actually came into being.

He also said all the other states that were carved out of Tamil Nadu are celebrating November 1 as their birthday, adding that Stalin had extended his greetings on November 1, 2019, when the AIADMK government decided to celebrate Tamil Nadu Day on that date.

The AIADMK also lashed out at the government's decision to reverse the date of the state's Formation Day celebrations. K Palaniswami, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 2019, had announced at the time that Tamil Nadu Day will be observed on November 1, following requests from various quarters.

“Just because Palaniswami had announced that November 1 will be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day, you cannot change history according to your convenience for political vendetta. I condemn this,” said AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan in a tweet, tagging Stalin and top party leaders OPS and EPS. 

Earlier, CM Stalin had said as per Tamil experts, scholars, organisations and others, November 1 can be termed as the Remembrance Day for state border struggle and only July 18 can be celebrated as Tamil Nadu Day. It was on July 18, 1967, when CN Annadurai was CM, that a resolution was passed in the Assembly to rename Madras Presidency as Tamil Nadu, he said.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com