CHENNAI: The political slugfest over the alleged imposition of Hindi seems to be turning into another full-blown confrontation between the DMK and the BJP, with the Dravidian major threatening to take the fight to the national capital and the saffron party accusing the DMK of playing a ‘deceitful drama for 70 years in the guise of opposing Hindi imposition’.
Ratcheting up its opposition to the proposals of a parliamentary committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which, among other things, recommended Hindi to be made the medium of instruction in central institutes, the DMK staged demonstrations across the State on Saturday against the BJP-led Union government. Spearheading the demonstration in Chennai, DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “Whether these demonstrations should turn into an agitation or not depends on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.”
“This demonstration is the launching pad for the DMK’s 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign. The people of TN, who have chased away the BJP in the 2019 LS elections, will repeat their verdict in 2024. The people of Tamil Nadu will never ever accept imposition of Hindi,” Udhayanidhi Stalin said. Opposing imposition of Hindi is a basic principle of the DMK and we will not compromise on that, the Stalin scion said.
“The DMK came to power by opposing imposition of Hindi. The DMK has participated in three struggles against Hindi and the third one was led by the party. We will not just rest with holding a demonstration. In whichever way you impose Hindi on us, we will oppose it by saying ‘Hindi theriyadhu poda’ (We don’t know Hindi, get lost),” Udhayanidhi said.
Reacting to the agitations organized by the DMK in district headquarters across Tamil Nadu, BJP State chief K Annamalai said the demonstrations were organised to divert people’s attention from governance issues confronting the DMK government.
“The BJP would soon stage demonstrations in all district headquarters to expose the DMK’s ‘deceitful drama’ over the past seven decades on the issue. We will tell how Periyar EV Ramasamy looked at Hindi imposition and how Hindi is being taught as a subject in schools run by DMK functionaries,” Annamalai said.
Asked about the DMK’s contention that they don’t oppose Hindi as a language but only its imposition, Annamalai said, “Only after the BJP-led government said students can learn a third language as per their wish, the DMK has changed its stand (on Hindi).”
Annamalai also recalled that at a function held in Chennai recently for the release of Hindi film Lal Singh Chaddha, an Amir Khan starrer, reporters questioned Udhayanidhi as to how could he release a Hindi film in Tamil Nadu after opposing Hindi. Responding to that, Udhayanidhi Stalin said DMK was only opposing Hindi imposition and not Hindi as a language.
“When so many Tamil movies are struggling for theatre release, why is Udhayanidhi releasing a Hindi film here by engaging thousands of theatres? Is it not imposing Hindi on Tamils? So, Chief Minister MK Stalin should clarify who is imposing Hindi on Tamils --- whether it is Udhayanidhi Stalin or the central government?” Annamalai said.
“Hindi is not being imposed anywhere. When the PM and BJP president visited TN, they spoke only in English. Contrary to this, the CM is speaking in different languages wherever he goes.”