MK Stalin, battling 'Hindi imposition' in Tamil Nadu, finds allies in Thackerays

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday came out all guns blazing against the BJP and the Centre, saying they have faced a second defeat in their quest for "Hindi imposition" in the country as he congratulated Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray for their "victory rally" over the Maharashtra government's rollback of the three-language policy.

Referring to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray as "brother", Stalin spoke about the Thackeray cousins' joint rally against "Hindi imposition" in Maharashtra, saying the war waged by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu has now transcended state boundaries.

"The language rights struggle, waged generation after generation by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the people of Tamil Nadu to defeat Hindi imposition, has now transcended state boundaries and is swirling like a storm of protest in Maharashtra," Stalin posted in Tamil on X.

Earlier in Mumbai, Uddhav and Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray said the cause of 'Marathi bhasha' and 'Marathi manoos' brought them together.

Welcoming their "reunion", Stalin accused the BJP of acting "lawlessly and anarchically by stating that funds will be allocated only if Hindi is taught as a third language in Tamil Nadu schools". Stalin added that the BJP has been forced to back down for the second time in Maharashtra, where they govern, due to fear of the people's uprising.

The Tamil Nadu government, under MK Stalin, has refused to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) which provisioned teaching a third language in state schools and colleges apart from Tamil and English, and has dragged the Centre to the Supreme Court over the same.

It also accused the Centre of withholding Rs 573 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan scheme over the state's refusal to join the PM SHRI initiative to set up model schools. Tamil Nadu maintains its refusal has to do with the conditions to implement the NEP.

Meanwhile, last week, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra cancelled its amended government resolution (GR) on the three-language policy and announced the formation of a new committee to review and implement the policy afresh.

On Saturday, Uddhav and Raj Thackeray celebrated the move as their victory over "Hindi imposition" in the Marathi-speaking Maharashtra.

"I know well that the Union government, which prioritises the promotion of Hindi and Sanskrit full-time, has no answers to the questions raised by Mr Raj Thackeray: What is the third language taught in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan? And Hindi-speaking states are lagging behind—why are you imposing Hindi on the people of progressive non-Hindi-speaking states?" Stalin continued his tirade in a long post on X.

Stalin further said that Tamil Nadu's fight against "Hindi and Sanskrit imposition" is to protect India's pluralistic culture, and is not "driven by hatred".

He warned that if the BJP did not mend its ways, "Tamil Nadu will once again teach the BJP and its new allies a lesson they will never forget!"

- Ends