Pretending to support Tamil, Centre pushing Hindi in TN: Udhayanidhi

Trichy: Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday accused the Union government of attempting to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu while claiming to promote Tamil.Speaking at a function near Thanjavur, where he unveiled the statues of former chief minister M Karunanidhi and S Ramanathan, former secretary of Karanthai Tamil Sangam, at Karanthai Arts College, Udhayanidhi said opposition to Hindi imposition had deep historical roots in the region. He noted that the Karanthai Tamil Sangam had passed a resolution in the 1930s opposing the introduction of Hindi in educational institutions. "The imposition of Hindi continues even today," he said, citing examples such as Hindi signage at the entrance of the Trichy divisional railway office. He also criticised the Union government's education policy. "The Union government is aggressively pushing Hindi through policies such as the New Education Policy," he said. Udhayanidhi alleged that the Centre was withholding Rs 3,500 crore in education funds meant for Tamil Nadu and linking their release to the state's acceptance of the new education policy and the three-language formula. "The chief minister has made it clear that Tamil Nadu will not accept the imposition of Hindi or Sanskrit," he said. "While repeatedly claiming to support Tamil, the Union government is deceiving the people. We must show clearly who is genuinely working for Tamil and who is only pretending," Udhayanidhi added. He further alleged that the Union government had allocated only Rs 147 crore for the promotion of Tamil in the past decade, compared to about Rs 2,500 crore for Sanskrit.