Chennai (Tamil Nadu), October 19 (ANI): There is no end to the war of words between the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister MK Stalin over what the CM has termed as 'Hindi imposition' on the state. On Friday night Stalin hit back at Governor TN Ravi on social media, after the governor accused the Chief Minister of disrespecting the 'Tamizh Thaai Vaazhthu'.

MK Stalin said that Tamil language is the race and lifeblood of Dravidians, and said that if racism is the mother tongue of this land, then it is his pride.

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"A few questions for the Hon'ble Governor, who has responded to my strong criticism for not singing the line 'Dekkanamum Ittishita Dravidanal Tirunadum' in Tamil at the closing ceremony of the Hindi Month celebration. Shouldn't you, who say 'I will sing Tamil greetings with full devotion', immediately condemn them for not completing the song?, the TN CM posted on X.

"You have said 'It is unfortunately cheap for a Chief Minister to make racist comments against a Governor with false allegations'. Governor, Tamil is our race! It is our lifeblood! Tamils are the ones who gave their lives to save the Tamil language. It is the soil that laid the foundations of the First Constitutional Amendment and bears the histories of the Indian anti-imposition struggle. If racism is the mother tongue of this land, it is our pride," he added.

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MK Stalin also alleged that the central government had not done enough for the devlopment of the Tamil language.

"What has the Modi government done for the Tamil language that you claim to be praising? From 2013-2014 to 2022-2023, a total of Rs.2435 crore has been spent for the development of Sanskrit language, Rs.2029 crore for the Central Sanskrit University in Delhi and Rs.406 crore for the National Sanskrit University in Tirupati. This is two and a half times more than what was spent ten years ago. During the same period only Rs.167 crore was spent on development of Tamil language. In other words, only 7 percent of the expenditure on Sanskrit was allocated to Tamil," he said.

"You are the one who imposes Hindi with the policy of 'Hindi everywhere - Hindi in anything' by Prime Minister Modi's schemes, trains and slogans. What kind of political civilization is it to forget the constitutional norms and talk about politics every day, and to turn the Governor's House into a political office - and to vilify the Dravidian race? What kind of dignity?" he added

The CM called on the Governor to step down from his position as he had failed to speak for Tamil pride.

"If you intend to continue as governor, I request you to free yourself from divisive forces and discharge your duties according to constitutional norms," MK Stalin said.

The face off began after MK Stalin on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasising that the Indian Constitution does not grant national language status to any language, and Hindi and English are only for official purposes. He suggested avoiding Hindi language programs in non-Hindi-speaking states.

He also condemned the celebration of Hindi Month valedictory function along with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Chennai Doordarshan. In response Governor RN Ravi emphasised that Hindi should not be viewed as an imposition but as a language to be celebrated alongside other languages. (ANI)

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