Chennai: Alleging that the Union government led by BJP was attempting to make “Hindi the language that symbolises power”, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin tabled a resolution in the state assembly against any “imposition” of the language.
The opposition AIADMK, led by former chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami, and BJP MLAs staged a walkout ahead of assembly proceedings.
“I am moving a historic resolution on the floor of the House, continuing with the tradition of voicing our opinion against imposition of a dominant language,” Stalin said in his speech.
“Imposition of Hindi has been done continuously since 1938 and we continue to oppose the imposition. The BJP, which is helming the Union Government, is in the habit of imposing Hindi in administration and now, they are extending that to education,” Stalin said.
The resolution comes in the backdrop of outrage among several states over a report by the parliamentary committee on official languages that allegedly recommends that India’s scheduled languages, including Hindi , get priority in public offices, higher education institutions such as IITs and IIMs, and in local courts (but not high courts).
The committee’s report, submitted to President Droupadi Murmu on October 9, allegedly paves the way for wider use of Indian languages as medium of education, for office work and proceedings of lower courts.
Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice alleging that such attempts were against the Constitution.
Speaking in the assembly, Stalin further said Tamil Nadu is consistent in its dual language policy — English and Tamil — and that they were seeking the inclusion of all state languages in the list of official languages of the country.
20Oct
Image courtesy of (Photo courtesy: deccanherald.com)
