'Yogi Adityanath lecturing us on hate? What an irony': Stalin
What's the story
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has slammed Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's comments on the southern state's stand on delimitation and the three-language policy.
Terming Adityanath's statements "political black comedy at its darkest," Stalin defended TN's decades-long opposition to Hindi imposition and demand for a fair parliamentary seat delimitation process.
Stalin said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is "clearly rattled" as the state's stand on the two-language and delimitation was "echoing nationwide."
Clarification
Stalin rejects allegations of linguistic imposition
"Yogi Adityanath wants to lecture us on hate? Spare us. This isn't irony - it's political black comedy at its darkest," Stalin said.
Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government has vehemently opposed the three-language push in the National Education Policy, accusing it of imposing Hindi on the southern states.
The delimitation exercise has been another source of contention. The DMK argued that the delimitation exercise will affect southern states because they have successfully adopted family planning over the years.
Argument
Tamil Nadu MPs will come down from 39 to 31
"If delimitation...is done on the basis of population, it would affect the Southern states very much. Tamil Nadu will come down from 39 MP seats to 31," DMK MP Tiruchi Siva earlier said.
Kerala will also come down to 12 from 20.
"Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and other southern regional states will also suffer," he argued, adding that northern states would gain from such losses.
Defense
Adityanath defends Hindi as a national language
In an interview with ANI, Adityanath defended promoting Hindi, saying every Indian should learn every language.
He dismissed Stalin's concerns over delimitation as a "political agenda."
"When these people feel their vote bank is at risk, they try to create divisions based on region and language. The people of this country should always be alert to such divisive politics and stand firm for the unity of the country," he said.