'Very people who glorify Godse's ideology...': MK Stalin weighs in on 3-language policy, Annamalai hits back

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday intensified his attack his attack against the Centre over the issue of alleged Hindi imposition through a three-language policy. In a long post on X, Stalin said in a veiled attack on the BJP-led Central government that those who glorify Godse's ideology are now questioning the patriotism of DMK.

"The very people who glorify Godse’s ideology have the audacity to question the patriotism of DMK and its government that contributed the highest amount of funds during the Chinese Aggression, Bangladesh Liberation War, and Kargil War, while their ideological forefather is the one who assassinated 'Bapu' Gandhi," Stalin said in his post. 

He added that demanding linguistic equality is not chauvinism and that chauvinism is when you name the 3 criminal laws that govern 1.4 billion citizens in a language that Tamil people can't pronounce or comprehend by reading.

"Chauvinism is treating the state that contributes the most to the nation as second-class citizens and denying its fair share for refusing to swallow the poison called NEP."

Furthermore, he said that the imposition of anything breeds enmity, which threatens unity. "Hence, the true chauvinists and anti-nationals are the Hindi zealots who believe their entitlement is natural but our resistance is treason." 

Later, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai attacked Stalin and the ruling DMK at a press conference, calling the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP) the need of the hour.

When asked if the issue of Hindi imposition would isolate the BJP in Tamil Nadu, Annamalai said: "Giving Hindi names to flagship schemes is better than the (Congress-led) UPA naming schemes after Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi."

The state-level signature campaign aims to rally support from students, parents, and the public for NEP 2020. This initiative faces opposition from major political parties in the state, including the ruling DMK and the AIADMK. The goal is to collect one crore signatures to present to President Droupadi Murmu.

He further said that after the BJP came to power in the Centre, several trains were named after Tamil icons such as the Sengol Express. He went onto call Stalin a "hypocrite" for attacking PM Narendra Modi over Centre earmarking funds for Sanskrit-Hindi and Tamil.