‘Modi will never succeed in suppressing voice of Tamil people’

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the Centre’s “attempt to block” Vijay-starrer “Jana Nayagan” is an attack on Tamil culture, and said Prime Minister Narendra

Modi will never succeed in “suppressing the voice of the Tamil people”.

Gandhi’s remarks come on a day he is on a visit to poll-bound Tamil Nadu where the row over actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamil film has snowballed into a major issue.

The producer of the film approached the Supreme Court, challenging a January 9 interim order of the Madras High Court that

stayed a single-judge direction to grant the CBFC clearance to the movie.

The Madras High Court has left the fate of the film, which has drawn attention for its political overtones, in limbo.

In a post on X, Gandhi said, “The I&B Ministry’s attempt to block ‘Jana Nayagan’ is an attack on Tamil culture.”

“Mr Modi, you will never succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

KVN Productions LLP has filed an appeal against the order passed by a division bench of the high court.

Vijay recently launched his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). “Jana Nayagan”, which is widely publicised as Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged entry into politics, was slated for a Pongal release on January 9.

However, the film ran into last-minute hurdles after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did not issue certification in time.

On January 9, the division bench’s order came hours after Justice PT Asha directed the CBFC to give clearance to “Jana Nayagan”, setting

aside the film board’s directive to refer the matter to a review committee.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the nation’s democratic structure and the voice of the people are under attack by those running the Central government.

Taking part in a school function at Gudalur near here, Gandhi, while interacting with students, said he wanted to develop an India where people are kind to each other, where people listen to each other, respect each other’s traditions, respect each other’s languages, respect each other’s

religions, and are kind to each other. The most important value for a politician, student, or a teacher is

humility. “So I would advise all the children here to be humble.”