Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday, January 25, framed the 2026 Assembly elections as a battle against forces he accused of trying to destroy Tamil culture and their “henchmen”.
Tamil Nadu observes January 25 as Linguistic Martyrs’ Day, commemorating those who lost their lives during the anti-Hindi agitations of the 1960s.
Speaking at a public meeting in Kancheepuram, the birthplace of Dravidian movement founder CN Annadurai, Stalin said that only the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had the courage to stand up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he accused of betraying Tamil Nadu.
Referring to allegations of rising drug trafficking in the state, Stalin cited Union government data, claiming that narcotics worth Rs 11,311 crore had been smuggled through Indian ports over the past five years. He added that the majority of these seizures were made at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra, states governed by what he sarcastically described as “so-called double-engine governments”.
“Let us take a solemn pledge in the name of the martyrs of the language struggle to defeat those who seek to destroy Tamil culture, and their mercenaries who have become their slaves,” Stalin said in a message posted after the event.
He accused the Centre of attempting to impose Hindi through the National Education Policy (NEP), alleging that the move was being pushed indirectly through schools and universities. “They couldn’t impose Hindi directly, so they are trying to do it through education,” he said.
Stalin also took a swipe at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who had visited Chennai recently. “It felt like an LKG student trying to teach a professor,” he remarked, accusing Pradhan of withholding Rs 3,548 crore in central funds because Tamil Nadu refused to accept Hindi imposition. “This is not just a language issue. This is a cultural war,” he said.
The Chief Minister further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Tamil Nadu recently, failed to respond to questions raised by the state government regarding pending Union schemes and funds.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s pitch for a “double-engine” NDA government in Tamil Nadu, Stalin said, “No matter how many times you attempt to take over Tamil Nadu with slaves, cowards and clowns, you cannot overwhelm us. The ‘double-engine’ model that fooled the people of North India and destroyed their livelihoods will not run in Tamil Nadu.”