Even as the DMK led by its alliance partners like the Congress, the Islamists and Tamil chauvinist groups have upped the ante against the BJP by blaming it for favouring the Panneerselvam-led faction of the AIADMK and selectively targeting the Edappadi Palaniswamy wing by unleashing raids by the Income Tax department, the Hindutva party launched an equally scathing attack on the DMK for spreading lies and misinformation.
Within hours of Stalin, the working president of the DMK, who is the de facto chief of the party as his 94-year-old father MK Karunanidhi, the party president is ailing and sick, posting a video in the social media attacking the BJP for imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States like Tamil Nadu, the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, lambasted the DMK leader for spreading lies and misinformation on the issue.
Speaking to reporters at Chennai on Sunday, Nirmala Sitharaman, a popular leader among Tamil Nadu electorate, said there was no truth in the allegation by the DMK that the Centre was thrusting Hindi over non-Hindi speaking States.
Sitharaman referred to the Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat Scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a first of its kind people exchange programme between various States in the country so that people in non-Tamil speaking States would come to Tamil Nadu and vice-versa, facilitating them to know and learn about each other.
The Minister, who was born in Madurai and had her education in Tiruchirappalli, said the Centre was not at all against Tamil. “But we would like the children get the freedom of choice to learn the language of their liking. The country has a three-language formula in vogue, which consist of the regional language, the English and a third language. let the third language be Hindi or the language of choice by the students and their parents. Please do not deny the students and their parents to learn the language of their choice,” said Sitharaman.
The Union Minister also scoffed at allegations made by Stalin that the Centre was misusing various agencies to ‘terrorise’ one faction of the AIADMK and the arrest of TTV Dinakaran, the deputy general secretary of the faction was part of this move. “The case is in connection with the attempt to bribe Election Commission officials and the BJP does not come in the picture at all,” said Sitharaman.
Meanwhile, it was the turn of EVKS Elangovan, former TNCC president on Sunday to unleash an attack on BJP. The former Union Minister, who is havig a running battle with the present TNCC chief said his party would not allow the BJP to get a foothold in Tamil Nadu. The CPI(M), the CPI and the VCK too have made it known that they would not allow the BJP to enter Tamil Nadu.