Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has criticised Tamil Nadu politicians for “hypocrisy” over the alleged imposition of Hindi in the state. The Janasena Party chief pointed out that while these leaders oppose Hindi, they allow Tamil movies to be dubbed in the language for financial gains.
“I do not understand why some criticise Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gains? They want money from Bollywood but refuse to accept Hindi. What kind of logic is that?” Kalyan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. The actor-politician was addressing the party’s 12th foundation day at Pithampuram in Kakinada on March 14.
Kalyan’s comments come amid a war of words between the Chief Minister MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu and Bhratiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre over the three-language formula in the National Education Policy (NEP). Kalyan’s Janasena Party is a BJP ally in Andhra Pradesh government led by TDP leader and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK has accused the Union government of ‘Hindi imposition’ and withholding funds meant for the state under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
No compromise on two-languages: DMK Minister
Presenting the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government’s last full budget in the state assembly on March 14, Tamil Nadu’s Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu said that the state government would not compromise on its two-language stand even if that means losing over ₹ 2,000 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme.
“Even after losing ₹2,000 crore, our chief minister firmly stands by the two-language policy and refuses to compromise,” he said in the assembly.
The Budget was tabled amid a highly charged political atmosphere in the state over two contentious issues: thethree-language rowand delimitation.
On March 13, a day before the budget, the Stalin government sparked a row by replacing the Devanagari rupee symbol ‘ ₹’with a Tamil letterin its logo for the budget 2025-26. Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharamancondemned the act and asked the DMK why it did not protest in 2010 when the Congress officially adopted the symbol.
The same day, Stalin labelled the NEP as a “saffronised policy” designed to promote Hindi rather than develop India. He alleged that the policy threatens to destroy Tamil Nadu’s education system.
“National Education Policy is not education policy, it is saffronise policy. The policy was not created to develop India but to develop Hindi. We are opposing the Policy as that would destroy the Tamil Nadu education system completely,” Stalin said in Tiruvallur.
India needs multiple languages: Kalyan
Kalyan, speaking on Friday, emphasised India’s linguistic diversity, Kalyan said that the country needs multiple languages, including Tamil, rather than just two dominant ones.
I do not understand why some criticise Sanskrit. Why do Tamil Nadu politicians oppose Hindi while allowing their movies to be dubbed in Hindi for financial gains?
“India needs multiple languages, including Tamil, not just two. We must embrace linguistic diversity – not only to maintain the integrity of our nation but also to foster love and unity among its people,” Kalyan said.