CHENNAI: Hours after Chief Minister and TVK president C Joseph Vijay shared a cordial public platform with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders, including the party’s state president Nainar Nagenthran, the ruling TVK on Sunday hit out at the BJP over the depiction of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar in saffron, accusing it of attempting to appropriate a universal cultural icon for a particular religious identity.
In a statement, the party’s IT wing said Thiruvalluvar belonged to all Tamils and humanity at large, and condemned attempts to associate him with a specific religious identity. “Thiruvalluvar, who gave the world the universal code of ethics, must not be confined to a particular religious identity by colouring his image saffron. We strongly condemn attempts to alter his identity,” the statement said.
Invoking the celebrated Thirukkural couplet, “Pirappokkum Ella Uyirkkum”, the TVK said the poet had championed equality and humanism and could not be claimed exclusively by any religion.
“Thiruvalluvar does not belong to any particular religion; he belongs to all humanity,” the statement said, accusing the BJP of using his identity as an instrument of divisive politics.
The party said the values of virtue, love, equality and justice espoused by Thiruvalluvar should be upheld in public life rather than turned into tools of political contestation. “Thiruvalluvar is the pride of Tamils; the Thirukkural is the common heritage of the world,” it said.
In a pointed warning against attempts to saffronise the poet, the statement added: “If you try to paint Thiruvalluvar saffron, the Tamil soil will blacken your face.”
The TVK said the people of Tamil Nadu would continue to reject attempts to appropriate the state’s cultural icons for divisive purposes. It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the Tamil language and the interests of Tamil people.
“Even in the future, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam will stand as a shield for Tamil and the Tamil people. We firmly consider this an ethical commitment,” the statement added.