Chennai, Oct 2:
DMK president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin has warned the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government against making any changes to Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy, after Hindi inscriptions were found on a State Highways Department signboard in Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district.
A newly installed directional signboard near the Karumeni river bridge and Tiruchendur Road junction on the Sathankulam-Nazareth road had directions to Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Alwarthirunagari and Tirunelveli. The names were displayed in Tamil, Hindi and English, in that order.
Following the opposition, the Hindi inscriptions were subsequently removed from the signboard. The development prompted Stalin to question the State government’s decision and warn against any move that could alter the State’s established language policy.
In a post on X, Stalin said Tamil Nadu had so far been fighting what he described as the Union government’s imposition of Hindi and questioned why the State government itself was now taking a similar step. He also questioned whether the incident was another attempt by the TVK government to make a move and then make a “U-turn” after facing opposition.
Stalin further criticised the TVK government over what he described as its approach towards political and administrative issues and urged it to immediately change its approach after recognising the implications of the incident. He stressed that the two-language policy was a fundamental policy of Tamil Nadu and warned the government not to “play games” with it.