Chennai: Pongal was back on the compulsory list of holidays for Central Government employees in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, a move that doused a major controversy brewing after reports emerged a day earlier that the festival was placed under restricted holiday category.
The row erupted after a mistake by the state committee of the Central Government Employees Union here, which had removed Pongal from the list of three compulsory holidays on restricted list for state since the festival falls on a second Saturday.
After the “unnececsary row”, the festival was placed back on the compulsory list of holidays, sources said. Without understanding the issue, political leaders, including the Chief Minister, cried hoarse about Pongal being made a restricted holiday even seeing it as a design by the BJP-led Union Government to “insult” Tamils.
