Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Thursday reaffirmed his strong opposition to the three-language formula, declaring, "Demanding linguistic equality is not chauvinism." Addressing his party cadre, Stalin referenced the adage, "When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." He remarked, "This comes to mind when some entitled bigots brand us as chauvinists and anti-nationals for merely demanding Tamil's rightful place in Tamil Nadu."
Taking aim at his critics, Stalin accused those who uphold Nathuram Godse’s ideology of questioning the DMK's patriotism. "The DMK and its government contributed the highest amount of funds during the Chinese Aggression, the Bangladesh Liberation War, and the Kargil War. Meanwhile, their ideological forefather assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Yet, they have the audacity to question our patriotism," he said.
Posing the rhetorical question, "Do you want to know what chauvinism looks like?" Stalin answered emphatically: "Chauvinism is naming the three new criminal laws in a language that 140 crore citizens, including Tamils, cannot even pronounce or comprehend.
Chauvinism is treating the state that contributes the most to the nation’s economy as secondclass citizens and denying its rightful dues, simply because it refuses to swallow the poison called the National Education Policy (NEP)." Stalin warned that forced imposition of any language breeds resentment, which in turn threatens national unity. "The real chauvinists and antinationals are the Hindi zealots who consider their entitlement natural but view our resistance as treason," he asserted.
Meanwhile, the State BJP has launched a signature campaign in support of the three-language policy. BJP state president K. Annamalai claimed that over one lakh signatures were gathered within 24 hours. In Chennai, former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan’s participation in the campaign led to tense moments as DMK supporters protested, raised slogans against her, and demanded her arrest. The police intervened, urging her to suspend the campaign and later escorting her away following a heated exchange.
