MK Stalin hits back at Amit Shah over BJP leader’s remarks on Hindi language
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has responded to Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on the Hindi language, which the BJP leader said was not a competitor of local languages, but a “friend”.
“Let me make one thing very clear. Some people are spreading misinformation that Hindi and Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil, Hindi and Marathi are competitors. Hindi cannot be a competitor to any other language in the country. You have to understand this Hindi is the biggest language. Friends of all languages of the country,” Amit Shah said at the All India Official Language Conference in Surat on Hindi Diwas today.
Mr Stalin took note of the home minister’s remarks that the BJP should stop “any attempt to convert India to Hindi”.
Stalin said, “Declare all 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule as official languages of the government. Hindi is neither the national language nor the only official language. We should celebrate Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas instead of Hindi Diwas.”
Referring to the National Education Policy, the Chief Minister said, “The Center should bridge the huge gap in resources spent for the development of Hindi versus other languages. The Center only implements Hindi and Sanskrit through NEP.”
Tamil Nadu has long been accusing the Center of trying to impose Hindi. The division of the language widened after the state’s fight against the Centre’s alleged plan to introduce Hindi as a third language in schools.
In the sixties, the state witnessed anti-Hindi protests and the then Prime Minister had assured to keep English as the official liaison language between the Center and the states.