Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal (right) addressing businessmen in Erode on Friday. Candidates for the Assembly election, M. Yuvaraja (centre) of the Tamil Maanila Congress, and S. Kirthika of the BJP were present.
| Photo Credit: M. GOVARTHAN
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Piyush Goyal, on Friday urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to assure the people that his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had criticised Tamil culture and its pride, would not be made Chief Minister of the State.
Addressing reporters, Mr. Goyal said Erode was Periyar’s soil and that Tamil language and culture, among the most ancient in the world, deserved the highest respect. He alleged that the Congress and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had treated the Sengol as a walking stick, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had restored its dignity by installing it in Parliament.
Published – April 10, 2026 07:28 pm IST