Govt hits back at DMK, says no question of forcing Hindi on anybody

Chennai: Downplaying Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president and treasurer MK Stalin's claim that the Centre is imposing Hindi on the non-Hindi residents of the country, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said there is no question of forcing Hindi on anybody, adding this matter is being unnecessary politicised for ulterior gains.

Naidu said the incumbent government is following the old practice, adding there has not been any change from what was implemented during the time of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

"There is no question of forcing Hindi on anybody. Learning Hindi will be useful. Even I have learned Hindi later and now I am able to speak Hindi across the country. Learning Hindi will be good for the future but at the same time there is no force. What was implemented at the time of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi period same thing is being implemented now. They are trying to unnecessary politicise this issue to create some sort of regional feeling. We have seen enough of this," he added.

In a video posted on his Twitter account, Stalin on Saturday said that right from the day of assuming office, Prime Minister Modi-led BJP has been attempting to destroy and decimate the unity of the nation.

He said the recent proposal of the parliamentary committee to make it mandatory for the MPs and Central Ministers who know Hindi to the use it as their official language, both in speech and writing, is a recent example of such efforts.

"The BJP government has also obtained permission from the President for usage of Hindi in Airport announcements, press news and advertisements and going one step further have made Hindi a compulsory subject for CBSE schools across the country," he said.

He pointed that all the Central Government's Cesses and Schemes are titled only either in Hindi or Sanskrit and then transliterated to other languages adding that recently, even the milestones on the National Highways have been re-lettered in Hindi, after erasing the earlier signage in English, which was universally recognisable.

The BJP government "by forcing Hindi onto its citizens" from primary school students to Parliament is betraying all non-Hindi speaking residents of the country including future generations, said Stalin as he accused the Centre of violating the Indian Constitution that ensures equal rights to all the citizens.

"According to the Schedule 8 of the Constitution of India, all languages including Tamil should be announced as official languages," he said.