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The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has put off its proposed September 20 protest over the possible Hindi imposition as stated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah . This move form the DMK comes after clarification by Shah.
Following backlash, Shah asserted that he has never asked for imposition of Hindi anywhere in the country.
DMK President MK Stalin said the state-wide protest demonstrations in Tamil Nadu have been “postponed temporarily”. He said Shah has also opined that his views on Hindi had been “wrongly understood.”
“We consider his (Shah’s) clarification as a big victory for the DMK following the party’s announcement of protest demonstrations,” Stalin said, two days after the party announced the agitation. However, if Hindi was imposed, the DMK will oppose it at all times, he warned.
Seeking to put to rest the controversy over his remarks on Hindi, Shah at an event in Delhi on Wednesday said he has never asked for imposition of Hindi anywhere in the country but advocated its use as the second language. The minister said he has been repeatedly pitching for strengthening regional languages.
Meanwhile, the ruling AIADMK said it never misunderstood Shah’s remarks and accused the DMK of wrongly interpreting it and using it for political mileage.
“A language is the identity of a race, culture and tradition. We will hence, never accept Hindi imposition or for that matter thrusting of any other language. We never misunderstood Home Minister Shah’s views,” said AIADMK spokesperson RM Babu Murugavel.
