Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday deleted a social media post after mistakenly extending greetings for Thiruvalluvar Day instead of Pongal, drawing sharp criticism from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Responding to Shah’s post, Tamil Nadu minister for industries, investment promotion and commerce T R B Rajaa said the episode reflected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s lack of understanding of Tamil culture and the state.
“When people ask me about the BJP and Tamil Nadu, I often point out that the fundamental issue is that the BJP simply does not understand Tamils and Tamil Nadu. It doesn’t even make the effort to understand who we are and what we need,” Rajaa wrote.
Pongal, Tamil Nadu’s biggest festival, is celebrated on Thursday, while Thiruvalluvar Day falls on Friday according to the Tamil calendar and solar calculations, and not the Gregorian calendar, Rajaa pointed out.
“Tamil does not need ceremonial praise. It demands knowledge and understanding. Delhi should begin with that,” he said.
Rajaa also questioned whether a similar error was made during Pongal celebrations hosted by Union minister of state L Murugan at his Delhi residence on Wednesday, which were attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“One wonders whether the Pongal celebrations yesterday in Delhi were also a miscalculation, without due application of mind, or merely a date adjustment to accommodate senior leaders,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson A N S Prasad defended Shah, saying the initial post was promptly corrected.
“The Union home minister shared Pongal greetings on his X account earlier today, initially referencing Thiruvalluvar Day. The post was subsequently updated or removed to reflect the customary practice of wishing ‘Thai Pongal’ today and Thiruvalluvar Day tomorrow. This demonstrates respect for Tamil sentiments and traditions, with no malicious intent,” Prasad said.
