Opposition parties led by the DMK on Tuesday welcomed the Central government’s decision to cancel the recent Postal Department recruitment examinations that were conducted only in Hindi and English, and vowed to continue opposing “Hindi imposition”.
The ruling NDA’s constituent parties in Tamil Nadu – the DMDK and the PMK – also said postal services exams should not be conducted only in Hindi and English.
DMK president M.K. Stalin welcomed Communication Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s annoncement that the Postal Services Department exams will be conducted in Tamil as well.
“When the notification was issued that the exam will be conducted only in Hindi and English, the DMK opposed it. The DMK also flagged this issue in the Assembly. The DMK MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha took up this issue in Parliament and opposed it [exclusion of Tamil] strongly. The cancellation of the exam is a testimony to the DMK’s opposition to such policies,” Mr. Stalin said.
He added that instances of the Centre trying to impose Hindi and then withdrawing such notifications following opposition should not happen again. “Let this be the last time. They should not act in an undemocratic manner. The government must move forward in a constructive manner,” he said.
Dravidar Kazhagam leader K. Veeramani said the Centre should respect regional sentiments. “The Centre should stop disrespecting State sentiments, rights and languages at least from this point,” he said.
CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan said it was only due to strong opposition that this reversal was possible. “It is only due to the strong opposition shown by Tamil Nadu’s MPs that the BJP government reversed the notification. This is a victory for Opposition MPs,” he said.
DMDK leader Vijayakant said, “The government has taken note of the issue and has immediately addressed it. From now on, it should ensure that such exams are also conducted in Tamil.”
PMK founder S. Ramadoss said all qualifying examinations should be conducted in Tamil in Tamil Nadu. “India is not a single entity. It is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural country. The Centre should understand this and act accordingly,” he said.
The TMC’s G.K. Vasan also welcomed the Centre’s move.
