Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Sunday extended their Tamil Nadu Day greetings to the people of the state but there was no festivity to mark the day due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a Tamil tweet on his official Twitter handle, Naidu greeted the people of the state and hailed Tamil Nadu for its "rich cultural heritage, splendid architecture, beautiful beaches and varied landforms."

"Let this state achieve great heights in the coming years," he added.

To commemorate November 1, 1956, when states were reorganised on linguistic basis, and to honour those who had strived for the language, the government has been celebrating it as Tamil Nadu Day since last year, Palaniswami said.

In a tweet, he extended his Tamil Day greetings.

In a separate statement, he recalled that 'Madras State' came into existence on this day in 1956 following re-organisation of states, but this particular landscape was later renamed Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nation) due to the efforts of Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai, the first non-Congress chief minister of the state in independent India.

The name Tamil Nadu was given to the state following an assembly resolution in 1969.

"I extend my Tamil Nadu day greetings with the pledge that we all will strive to develop our Tamil-speaking state in the national arena," he said.

Official sources indicated no major events were scheduled this year owing to the pandemic.

DMK President M K Stalin asked people to take a pledge to defeat "communal forces" on this day and said state rights "are facing strong challenges."

"Let's defeat communal forces which are trying to undermine India's pluralism. Let's retrieve state rights," he said in a tweet.

State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss also extended their greetings.