The DMK on Wednesday announced its decision to postpone a demonstration condemning Union Home Minister Amit Shah for advocating Hindi as a unifying national language, after Governor Banwarilal Purohit assured a party delegation that Hindi will not be imposed.
The demonstration had been slated for September 20.
Party president M.K. Stalin told journalists in Chennai that he was invited by the Governor to the Raj Bhavan for a meeting, during which he was told that Mr. Shah’s speech had been misunderstood and that Hindi will never be imposed on the State.
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“When I asked if the Centre was ready to offer the promise (of not imposing Hindi), he [Mr. Purohit] said that as a representative of the Centre, he was conveying what the Union government wanted to convey. Mr. Shah [has] also clarified that his remarks were misunderstood. So, we have postponed the demonstration,” said Mr. Stalin, who was accompanied by the DMK’s Parliamentary party leader, T.R. Baalu.
Mr. Stalin reiterated that the DMK will never allow the imposition of Hindi and will always oppose it with the same vigour with which late leader M. Karunanidhi had fought against it.
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When asked whether Mr. Shah had wanted to test the waters since he had issued the clarification a few days after he made the speech, Mr. Stalin said the Home Minister would have been under compulsion [to clarify] since his remarks had sparked protests not just in Tamil Nadu but also in other parts of the country.
He said it was a victory for the DMK since the party had been opposing the imposition of Hindi in recruitment to the Railways and the Postal Department.