Chennai: Tamilnadu BJP will never accept or allow the imposition of Hindi, State BJP president K Annamalai has said. He also said there is no need to learn a language under compulsion to prove one’s Indianness.
Reacting to the row following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on using Hindi as connecting language, Annamalai told reporters in Chennai, ‘I don’t know Hindi, I don’t speak Hindi. However, if necessary, I will learn Hindi. There is no other option. Please consider whether you require it for your work, education, or career. However, no one may claim to be Indian simply by learning a language as a need for any reason. This is something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want. The National Education Policy expresses this very plainly.’
Annamalai accused the Congress of politicising the Hindi language issue for the last 40-45 years. He also recalled then Home Minister P Chidambaram’s statements during Hindi Diwas on the need to give importance to the language.
Stating music composer A R Rahman should not be criticised for batting for Tamil, Annamalai said, ‘For whatever reason, the BJP has no aim or habit of initiating personal attacks. Rahman has travelled to numerous places, including the Oscars stage, where he addressed in Tamil. giving Tamil and the people of Tamilnadu pride. That is something we are all proud of. Everybody has the right to make a comment.’