Chennai, Jan. 15 -- Tamil Nadu Minister TRB Rajaa on Thursday urged the central government to start with "understanding" Tamil culture instead of simply giving "ceremonial praise".

His response came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah extended Thiruvalluvar Day greetings to the people of Tamil Nadu.

Rajaa, a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a "fundamental issue" of not understanding Tamils and not making the effort to understand what they need or who they are.

"Tamil does not need ceremonial praise. It asks for knowledge and understanding. And Delhi should try to start with that. Happy Pongal to Hon HM and everyone in Delhi and am sure you can see that you can't trust your local un...