BJP State president Nainar Nagenthran on Thursday (September 10, 2026) found fault with the TVK-led Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance in Tamil Nadu for calling itself “secular”, a day after the TVK allies formally gave their alliance a name.

“It is a big lie to call it a secular alliance. The Speaker comes with a rosary in his hand. Nothing wrong in quoting from the Bible, but has he quoted from the Bhagavad Gita or the Quran? No doubt the Chief Minister is a Christian. But is he the Chief Minister only for Christians or for all? How can we accept it if they call themselves secular but act in a partisan manner?” asked Mr. Nagenthran, while interacting with reporters in the party office in Chennai.

When his attention was drawn to instances of Mr. Vijay visiting various places of worship of other religious faiths, Mr. Nagenthran said: “I welcomed it when he extended his greetings for Krishna Jayanthi. But I will not accept that they should call their alliance secular.” Though the BJP stood by all religious faiths, it would not call itself secular, he added.

Remarks on Stalin

Criticising Mr. Vijay’s body language while speaking about former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in the Assembly recently, Mr. Nagenthran said the incident had only “exposed” Mr. Vijay’s “real character”. To a query on the issue, he said: “The Chief Minister should be mindful of the decorum of the Assembly. He can criticise Opposition parties ideologically. But he spoke like a villain in a film. Even Communist parties have condemned it. Mr. Thirumavalavan has expressed regret.”

On new Secretariat

When asked about the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to construct a new Secretariat complex in Pattinapakkam in Chennai, Mr. Nagenthran asked: “What was the necessity to construct the Secretariat next to his [CM Vijay’s] house? There is no map as yet, but they have come up with an estimate already. I suspect there is an ulterior motive behind this. It cannot be constructed in Pattinapakkam. It would be appropriate to construct it in Guindy.”

Referring to the bypolls announced for Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies, Mr. Nagenthran said the people should ask why the bypolls were necessitated in the first place. “Why was this necessary? It was necessitated by the TVK’s ‘horse trading’. The same candidates who contested and won on behalf of my alliance have been fielded by the TVK now,” he charged.