The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu Government has become anti-national and an embodiment of corruption thanks to Chief Minister (CM) MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin, the deputy CM of the state, according to Amit Shah, the Union Minister for Home Affairs.

The Home Minister made the revelation in Coimbatore on Wednesday, speaking to reporters. Shah was in Coimbatore to attend the night-long Mahashivratri pooja held by Sadhguru at the Isha Yoga Center in the outskirts of the city.

Shah’s statement was in response to Stalin’s declaration on Tuesday that the DMK was ready for a language war against the Centre. Stalin has been alleging that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was trying to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states under the New Education Policy 2020.

While stoutly denying Stalin’s allegations, Amit Shah said that the NDA government has done a lot to promote and popularise Hindi. “Stalin and his son have institutionalised corruption. Charges of corruption are galore under the DMK ruling dispensation,” said the home minister. He described the anti-Hindi campaign launched by Stalin was an attempt to cover up the allegations of corruption and favoritism against Stalin and his family.

Shah also scoffed at Stalin for making unsubstantiated claims that the Centre was trying to bring down the number of Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. “There is no such plan and the common man knows it well that it would not be easy to do so,” he said. Shah also declared that the corruption ridden Tamil Nadu state government led by Stalin would be thrown out in the 2026 Assembly election and the NDA  would form the next government in Tamil Nadu to lead the state to the path of development.

Interestingly, the home minister chose Shivratri and Coimbatore to make this announcement, which in all probability would be remembered as the Siva Ratri declaration.

Meanwhile, BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai challenged Stalin to show at least a single sentence in the NEP 2020 making Hindi compulsory in the state.

A home ministry official said that Governor R N Ravi is fully aware of the DMK’s stance on this issue. “As a professional intelligence expert, Ravi, a former IPS officer, has a vast network of contacts across the State and Stain is under scrutiny,” he disclosed.

Stalin’s close acolyte and DMK’s ideologue K Thirunavakkarassu had pointed out that the demand for Dravidian nation was very much alive. “It is there in the constitution of the DMK though it has been put on backburner for the time being,” Thirunavakkarassar had said.