Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 3: In the wake of the Union government’s delimitation plans, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday reiterated the DMK party’s resolve to oppose “imposition of Hindi” even if meant losing power or torture by central forces and appealed to the people in his state to immediately start producing more children while emphasising that the successful family planning measures of the citizens can now prove to be a disadvantage for the state.
Stating that the DMK would not allow the imposition of Hindi [in Tamil Nadu] even if it had to lose power, [leaders and cadre] face jail terms and torture and lay down lives, Mr Stalin in a statement said. “It (DMK) was firm in the past and even now there is no change in its position. It is an utter lie the claim of those who say that Hindi is India’s national language and Sanskrit is the country’s ancient language.”
Stalin warned people that Tamil Nadu’s political representation could be impacted by population-based delimitation and appealed them to keep their egos aside and listen to his call. “I urge them to attend as well. Please set aside ego. Don’t think why should you listen to my call,” said Stalin, adding that this is a pressing issue for the state.
Speaking about the changing demographic scenario, Stalin said, “Earlier we used to say, take your time and have a baby. But now the situation has changed, and we should say it now.” He said the issue was concerning because delimitation was likely to be implemented on the basis of population census figures. “We implemented family planning successfully, and now we are facing such a situation,” Stalin said.
Re-emphasising his stance, the chief minister urged the newlyweds to have babies soon after their marriage so that the state could have a good political representation after the delimitation. “But now with schemes such as delimitation that the Union Government is planning to implement, we cannot say that. We focused on family planning, but we were pushed into a situation such as this. So I would now urge newlyweds to immediately have babies and give them good Tamil names.
Stalin has called for an all-party meeting on March 5 where the issue of delimitation would be discussed. He has said 40 political parties registered with the Election Commission will take part in the meeting to discuss the implications of constituency delimitation, which he has called a “sword dangling over Tamil Nadu”.
“They are trying to implement delimitation which will reduce the number of Lok Sabha seats to Tamil Nadu. I have convened an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss our stand on delimitation. Forty registered with the Election Commission have been invited. A majority of them have said yes, a few are skipping it. But they should understand that this is not a problem of DMK, it is a problem for the entire state. So I urge everyone again to stand together for the welfare of this state and its rights,” Stalin said.
On February 25, Stalin had said the successful implementation of family planning policies in Tamil Nadu has pushed the state into a position of disadvantage. “If delimitation is implemented based on population census, Tamil Nadu will lose eight MPs. This will lead to Tamil Nadu losing representation in Parliament,” the chief minister had stated.
Mr Stalin said Tamils have no hatred for any language, but the entire State opposed the imposition of Hindi on the pretext of a three-language policy. “Only the BJP and its agents continue to betray the interests of Tamil Nadu and support the imposition of Hindi.
Attacking the BJP government-appointed Governor RN Ravi with whom the Stalin government is constantly at loggerheads, the chief minister said Mr Ravi had expressed similar views. There is nothing new in his view and we need not take him seriously,” the Chief Minister said.
On Mr Ravi’s argument that the two-language policy had deprived Tamil students of the opportunity to learn an additional South Indian language, Mr Stalin said the Governor would not have an answer for the question on how many BJP-ruling States were teaching [an additional] North Indian languages. “Even those who pull the strings behind the Governor have no answer,” he said.
Recalling social media responses to his post that Hindi had eclipsed many North Indian languages, Mr Stalin said if Tamils had occupied good positions in premier institutions worldwide it was because of the two-language policy followed by former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.
“The construct that Hindi would pave the way for employment opportunities for Tamil youth in North Indian states has been proved wrong by the arrival of North Indian youth to Tamil Nadu in search of employment. The Governor is getting paid by the Tamil taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Mr Stalin said Mr Ravi who “shed tears” for the South Indian languages had failed to accord respect for Tamil, the ancient among the South Indian language. “He insulted the Tamil invocation and Tamil savant Thiruvalluvar,” the Chief Minister charged.
