CHENNAI: Political leaders in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday (March 4) vehemently objected to the naming of the entrance gate of the newly constructed Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Office as ‘Kartavya Dwar’ ('Gateway of Duty'), triggering a fresh political row over alleged Hindi imposition.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a tweet on X, called it an attack on Tamil identity, and demanded that the name be changed immediately, warning of strong public backlash.
Opposing the naming of the signage, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva wrote to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and also sought its revocation. In his letter, he said changing the established name of the Tiruchirappalli Division has caused concern in a non-Hindi speaking State. He pointed out that such decisions affect Tamil Nadu’s linguistic and cultural identity and urged the Minister to maintain status quo.
Madurai MP Su Venkatesan of the CPI(M) also criticised the naming of the entrance gate as 'Kartavya Dwar' in a tweet, saying, ""Kartavya Dwar" means "Gateway of Duty". The only "duty" of the BJP government at present seems to be imposing Hindi. Southern Railway should immediately remove the Hindi name and assign a Tamil name instead."
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan took to X to appeal to the Railway Minister to ensure that the Tamil name board is properly displayed at the entrance gate of the Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Office. She also opined that "the mistakes by some officials should not lead to the Centre being unnecessarily blamed for attempting to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu [sic]."
Tamilisai's remarks come after another tweet posted today, where she had thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the display of Tamil in Varanasi during the Kasi Tamil Sangamam, praising him for highlighting the pride and glory of ancient Tamils globally.