BJP govt 'going beyond limits' in imposing Hindi, says Tamil Nadu CM; slams naming arch as 'Kartavya Dwar'

Stalin said, 'We need to teach these people who are trying to undermine the self-respect of Tamils a proper lesson.'

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre allegedly for "going beyond limits" in imposing Hindi and condemned the move to name the Tiruchirappalli railway divisional office entrance arch in that language.

The entrance arch of the railway divisional office, Tiruchirappalli, was named 'Kartavya Dwar' (Gate of Duty) recently, sparking a political row on language imposition in the state.

Taking strong exception to it, the chief minister claimed that the Union BJP government has embarked on a "vile" Hindi imposition of writing the Hindi name in Tamil and English under the pretext of promoting "one language, three scripts."

"They have written Kartavya Dwar at the entrance arch of the Tiruchirappalli division office of the Railways. The attempt to impose Hindi on Tamil and English names should be abandoned and proper Tamil names should be included immediately," Stalin said in a post on the social media platform ‘X.’ Otherwise, the BJP government will have to feel the heat of the Tamils, he warned.

The Centre had already imposed the name 'Bhavishya Nidhi Bhavan' for the Provident Fund Offices (EPFO) and was giving Sanskrit names in English for the new criminal laws.

"The name of the Union Water Resources Ministry has become 'Jal Shakti' and the 100 days employment guarantee scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi was renamed. The bitterness and arrogance is increasing," he pointed out.

"We need to teach these people who are trying to undermine the self-respect of Tamils a proper lesson," Stalin, who is the president of the DMK, said.