Tamil should be the official language of Madras High Court and Union government offices in the state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Chennai Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Thursday. Greeting PM Modi, who had come to lay the foundation stones of 11 projects worth Rs 31,500 crore in the city, Stalin also demanded the exemption of Tamil Nadu from the NEET, the release of pending GST dues, and retrieving Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka. He urged the Prime Minister to consider the demands as early as possible. Speaking in Tamil and English, the CM also said, "I would request you to allot more funds and projects to our state Tamil Nadu, in the true spirit of co-operative federalism." "We will extend a hand of friendship at the same time we will raise our voice for our rights," he added. Stalin has raised the demand to make Tamil an official language several times, writing to the Prime Minister and the Union government over the same. Meanwhile, PM Modi in his address praised Tamil Nadu and said Tamil is eternal and its culture is global. He said the Union government is committed to popularising ‘Tamil language and culture" and said the recently opened Subramania Bharathi chair at the Banaras Hindu University and the National Educational Policy will play a crucial role in achieving it. This was PM Modi's first official visit to Chennai after the DMK formed the government beating the AIADMK in the last Assembly election.
