A day after his tweet (since deleted) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on teaching Tamil as an optional language to students outside Tamil Nadu triggered a row, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday insisted that neither he nor his government endorsed the three-language formula.
He also defended his deleted tweet and said it was taken out of context.
Speaking to reporters at the airport here, Mr. Palaniswami alleged that the tweet was deliberately twisted for political expediency by members of an Opposition party. The Chief Minister insisted that the AIADMK government would only support the two-language formula, following in the footsteps of C.N. Annadurai, M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa.
‘Chance to learn Tamil’
“Tamil is an ancient and classical language,” Mr. Palaniswami said, adding that Tamil-speaking “brothers and sisters” living in other States must have the opportunity to teach their children the language. Asked why he had tweeted and not written a letter to the Prime Minister, he joked that if a tweet could draw such opposition, a letter would have kicked up a storm.