Shah’s counter to CM Stalin’s language pitch: Letters to him in Tamil starting next year

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu was waging language wars to hide its corruption and did not have the courage to translate medical and engineering courses in Tamil language, something, he said, the BJP will do after forming the government in the southern state.

Replying to the discussion on the budget for the Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha today, Shah announced the establishment of a new department—Bharatiya Bhasha Abubhaag which will work to promote all Indian languages and also said that starting next year he will communicate with the Chief Minister and citizens of all states in their own regional languages.

Warning politicians against using language as a prop to “hide corruption”, Shah said the BJP will “expose DMK across Tamil Nadu’s villages as to how it was using language as a veil for graft”.

The Home Minister also cautioned against further attempts to divide the country on the basis of language and said “this should not be done anymore.”

Attacking those spewing venom in the name of language, Shah said Hindi was a friend, not a competitor of other Indian languages.

“Each Indian language is an ornament of our civilisation. What are they even saying? That we are against any language of southern India? How can that be? I am also from Gujarat. Nirmala Sitharaman comes from Tamil Nadu. How can we oppose regional languages? We have worked for the promotion of languages. We are working to translate medical and engineering courses in Indian languages and I want to ask the Tamil Nadu Government. We have been asking you for two years but you (DMK) do not have the courage to translate medical and engineering courses into Tamil language because you have to protect your vested economic interests. But when our government comes to power in Tamil Nadu, we will draft the medical and engineering course in Tamil,” Shah said amid Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief MK Stalin accusing the Centre of using the National Education Policy’s three-language formula to “impose Hindi”.

Shah said “enough has been done to divide the country in the name of languages, this should not be done now.” He dared the DMK to talk about development saying, “The country has marched ahead. You are using the veil of language to hide your corruption. We will expose you in village after village of Tamil Nadu.”