NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday took a sharp swipe at Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, accusing him and his party of exploiting the language issue for political gains and to divert attention from corruption allegations. He also said the Tamil Nadu government does not have the courage “to provide medical and engineering education in Tamil” because the “economic interests will be affected”.
“Some parties are raking up the language issue for their own politics. They are doing it just to hide their corruption,” Shah said on Friday while replying to a debate on the working of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Rajya Sabha.
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has been in a prolonged tussle with the Centre over the National Education Policy (NEP) and its three-language formula. Addressing this, Shah asserted that Hindi is not a rival to regional languages but a “friend” of all Indian languages.
The home minister strongly dismissed claims of Hindi imposition, said asserted that every Indian language is valuable. “There have been enough divisions in the nation in the name of language, and it should not happen anymore,” he said.
To demonstrate the Centre’s commitment to linguistic diversity, Shah announced that from December onwards, he will conduct all official correspondence with chief ministers, MPs, and citizens in their respective languages.
“The Modi government has established a new department of Indian Languages under the ‘Raajbhasha Vibhaag’ to promote all Indian languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Assamese. There will even be apps for translation,” he added.

‘You do not have the courage’: Shah’s dig at Tamil Nadu govt

In his Rajya Sabha speech, Shah took a dig at the MK Stalin government saying it does not have the courage to introduce medical and engineering courses in Tamil.
“I want to tell the Tamil Nadu government, we have been saying this for two years… You do not have the courage to provide medical and engineering education in Tamil because your economic interests will be affected,” Shah alleged.
He then vowed that once the NDA government comes to power in Tamil Nadu, it will ensure these courses are made available in Tamil.
Shah also dismissed accusations that the BJP was against southern languages, pointing out that he himself hails from Gujarat while Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is from Tamil Nadu.
“Those who are spreading poison in the name of language prefer a foreign language over an Indian language,” he said, taking a veiled dig at the DMK.
In a direct attack on the Tamil Nadu ruling party, he warned, “Don’t use language to hide your corruption. We will go to every village and tell people the truth.”