CHENNAI: DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin said in a tweet on Saturday that the language war waged by the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu against Hindi imposition has transcended state boundaries and sparked protests in Maharashtra. He was referring to the rally against Hindi imposition in Mumbai led by Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday.
He further said the BJP, which disregards the law, says it would allocate funds only if Tamil Nadu schools agree to teach Hindi as the third language. However, in a state which is ruled by BJP itself, it had to back down fearing public backlash.
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray jointly participated in a rally in Mumbai to celebrate the victory after the Maharashtra state government rolled back its decision to introduce Hindi as the third language in primary schools.
Referring to Raj Thackeray’s questions at the rally- “What is the third language in UP or Rajasthan?” and “Why is Hindi being forced on non-Hindi-speaking states while Hindi-speaking states remain economically backward?”, Stalin said, “I know the union government, which gives preference to developing Hindi and Sanskrit, will have no answers to these questions.”
“Will the union government shed its vindictive approach of insisting on the three-language policy under the NEP and release the Rs 2,152 crore SSA funds to Tamil Nadu?” the CM asked.