Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took an indirect dig at the Congress on Saturday, saying that not much effort was made to 'unite' the country after freedom even as he called for the preservation of Tamil heritage.
Speaking after inaugurating the month-long 'Kashi-Tamil Sangamam' in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi, Modi also said that the relations between Kashi (old name of Varanasi) and Tamil Nadu went back to ancient times.
"There was a need to strengthen our thousands of year old traditions and heritage.....to unite the country....unfortunately not much effort was made in this regard," the prime minister said and expressed hopes that the 'Kashi-Tamil Sangamam' would become a 'platform' for such unity.
Modi said that the Tamil language was the most ancient language and that it was still as popular as it was thousands of years ago.
Stating that Kashi and Tamil Nadu were closely related to each other, the prime minister said that while Kashi was the "cultural capital", Tamil Nadu was the centre of India's old culture. "This sangam (confluence) is as sacred as the Ganga and Yamuna rivers," he added.
Modi said that Tamil temples could be found in the lanes of Kashi.
Earlier, famous Tamil musician and nominated Rajya Sabha MP Ilaiyaraja and his entourage recited divine mantras before Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others.
The month-long 'Sangamam', which will conclude on December 16, was aimed at strengthening the cultural bonds between Kashi and Tamil Nadu. Around 2,500 guests, including students, teachers, businessmen, artists, professionals, entrepreneurs and others, from Tamil Nadu, would take part in the events to be organised during the 'Sangamam'.
The events were being organised by the IIT-Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU).