Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has reiterated his firm opposition to the imposition of Hindi, stating that the state is prepared for another language war if necessary. His comments come amid rising concerns over the Centre's three-language policy.
Stalin was asked whether the Centre's actions were sowing the seeds for another language conflict, to which he replied, "Yes, certainly. We are ready for it." The issue of language policy has been a longstanding point of contention between the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government and the BJP-led Union Government.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by Stalin, has consistently opposed this policy, maintaining that Tamil Nadu will continue with Tamil and English, and accusing the BJP-led NDA government of attempting to impose Hindi on the state. DMK has often referenced the anti-Hindi protests of 1965, during which the Dravidian movement successfully resisted the imposition of Hindi.
In response, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai criticised Stalin's remarks, accusing the DMK of hypocrisy regarding language policy. Annamalai, in a post on X, claimed that while Stalin asserts no opposition to any language, government school students in Tamil Nadu are denied the chance to learn a third language, unlike their peers in CBSE and matriculation private schools. Annamalai questioned whether students must enroll in CBSE or matriculation schools run by DMK members to do so. He further accused the DMK of having double standards, with different rules for the wealthy and the poor.
Annamalai also took a swipe at DMK members protesting against Hindi imposition, suggesting they had failed to distinguish between Hindi and English in their statements.
Meanwhile, after a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat, Stalin announced that an all-party meeting would be held on March 5 to discuss the delimitation issue. He stressed that Tamil Nadu was at risk of losing eight Lok Sabha seats due to its success in implementing family planning policies, which led to population control. Stalin argued that delimitation would not only reduce Tamil Nadu's representation but also impact its ability to address important national issues such as the National Education Policy (NEP), NEET, and central fund allocations.
"Tamil Nadu succeeded in population control through the family planning programme. Just because our population is less, we are now facing a situation where our Lok Sabha seats will be cut down. We stand to lose eight seats and as a result, we would be left with only 31 MPs instead of the current 39," he explained.