Ahead of the DMK-led Opposition parties meeting in Chennai on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a dig at the Opposition saying they were raising the language issue because of political considerations.
Shah spoke against the Opposition parties particularly, the DMK, which was at loggerheads with the Centre over the three-language formula as envisaged under the new education policy. The home minister argued that the language divisions should not be raised as Hindi was not being imposed. He said the Modi government had started engineering education in Indian languages, and when BJP is voted to power in Tamil Nadu, it would initiate the same in the Tamil language.
Shah, who was replying in Rajya Sabha, during the discussion on the Home Ministry, went on to add that after December, he corresponded with the chief ministers, and elected representatives in their respective languages. This was apparently to blunt the attack of the Opposition parties, particularly in the South, which are trying to get together to counter the BJP-led government over a host of issues.
On Saturday, the Opposition parties are gathering in Chennai on the invitation of DMK, to discuss the issue of delimitation of Lok Sabha seats. The argument is that the Southern states stand to lose if the population remains the criteria to redraw the electoral map as these states due to their progressive populations had managed to control it. While, the northern states like UP, Bihar with its burgeoning population will gain more Lok Sabha seats, which would tilt the balance in their favour, thus giving them more power in deciding who comes to power in Delhi.
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Language is another issue which can create a north versus south debate.
"Hindi is not in competition with any Indian language, it is only a friend. The government works on spreading all Indian languages. Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Assamese... every language has been included, and there will be apps for translation too," Shah said.
Shah was at his combative best as he said the Modi government’s zero tolerance against terrorism had ensured peace. "Earlier, bomb blasts happened frequently. But in the last 10 years, bomb blasts have stopped. The country is safe under Narendra Modi.”
Home Minister said his government would uproot terrorism and the country would be free from Left-wing by March 31, 2026.
Shah also referred to abrogation of Article 370 which brought peace in the valley. Shah said the issue of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, left-wing extremism, and insurgency in the Northeast were among the biggest challenges for India. Around 92,000 citizens were killed in four decades. No organised effort was made to deal with these, and the Modi government did it.