'Such remark poses danger to national unity': MK Stalin criticises Amit Shah over Hindi Divas comment

CHENNAI: Criticising Home Minister Amit Shah for his "only Hindi can unite the country" comment, DMK chief MK Stalin on Saturday demanded him to take back the statement and said that such remark "poses a danger to the national unity."

"After BJP came to power for the second consecutive time, there has been continuous attacks on the Tamil language. DMK has been waging its protest against Hindi imposition. Amit Shah's remarks have come as a jolt to us. Such comments pose a danger to the unity of the country," he told media persons here.

Earlier today, Shah tweeted: "India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language which should become the identity of India in the world. If one language can unite the country today, it is the widely-spoken Hindi language."

भारत विभिन्न भाषाओं का देश है और हर भाषा का अपना महत्व है परन्तु पूरे देश की एक भाषा होना अत्यंत आवश्यक है जो विश्व में भारत की पहचान बने। आज देश को एकता की डोर में बाँधने का काम अगर कोई एक भाषा कर सकती है तो वो सर्वाधिक बोले जाने वाली हिंदी भाषा ही है। pic.twitter.com/hrk1ktpDCn

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 14, 2019

The DMK president demanded that Shah takes his comments back and threatened with "next course of action" if his demand is not met.

Stalin alleged that non-Hindi speaking people were treated as "second-grade citizens".

He said, "We request him to immediately take back his statement. There is an attempt by him to show non-Hindi speaking people as a second-grade citizen. If this is not taken back, DMK will be compelled to prepare itself for the next course of action."

Meanwhile, several pro-Kannada organisations including Karnataka Ranadheera Pade held a protest in front of the town hall in Bengaluru to protest against the observation of Hindi Divas.