No one can taint Thiruvalluvar in Tamil Nadu: CM Stalin
The Governor’s portrayal of Thruvalluvar, the most revered philosophical poet of the Tamil tradition, sparked an outrage on social media with supporters of the Dravidian school of thought, including Chief Minister M K Stalin lashing out at the Raj Bhavan for giving a saffron tint to Thiruvalluvar.
CHENNAI: Pongal, the annual religion-neutral harvest festival celebrated by people of all religions in the state, also panned out to be an occasion for an ideological confrontation between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Governor after differences erupted over interpretation of Poet Thiruvalluvar.
Governor R N Ravi set the tone for the fresh face-off when he described Thiruvalluvar as “the brightest saint of the Bharatiya Sanatan tradition” in his Thiruvalluvar Day message posted on the official handle of the Raj Bhavan of Tamil Nadu. The Governor’s message also had a representative image of Thiruvallur where he was seen sporting saffron, instead of the usual white seen in the ‘official’ image of the Tamil Nadu government, and also ‘Rudhraksh’ and “Vibuthi” (Holy ashes on the forehead and biceps).
தமிழினத்தில் பிறந்து அமிழ்தமிழில் அறம் உரைத்து உலகம் முழுமைக்குமான நெறிகள் சொன்ன வான்புகழ் வள்ளுவர் நாள் வாழ்த்துகள்!பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் என்ற சமூகநீதிக் கோட்பாட்டையும் - முயற்சி மட்டுமே வெற்றியைத் தரும் என்ற தன்னம்பிக்கை ஊக்கத்தையும் - அறன் எனப் பட்டதே இல்வாழ்க்கை… pic.twitter.com/wUuvMJ4q63
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) January 16, 2024
The Governor’s portrayal of Thruvalluvar, the most revered philosophical poet of the Tamil tradition, sparked an outrage on social media with supporters of the Dravidian school of thought, including Chief Minister M K Stalin lashing out at the Raj Bhavan for giving a saffron tint to Thiruvalluvar.
Also taking to micro blogging site ‘X’ to criticize the (mis)interpretation, Stalin tweeted, “No one can taint Thiruvalluvar in Kuraloviya TamilNadu which celebrates him with a 133 feet tall statue and Valluvarkottam in the state capital.”
Extending "Valluvar Day" greetings to the Tamils world over, Chief Minister Stalin described Thiruvallur as a person who was born in the Tamil race and preached worldly wisdom to people all over the world in Tamil.
Seeking to disagree with the governor, the CM said that Valluvar was a person who propounded the social justice principle of “All are equal by birth” and inspired people through the idea that “Only effort would fetch victory”.