DMK postpones protest after Shah clarifies on Hindi

Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah clarified he never pitched for the imposition of Hindi, DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday said the party's proposed protest on September 20 on the issue has been postponed.

Citing Shah's assertion that he has never asked for imposition of Hindi anywhere in the country, Stalin said the protest slated for September 20 has been postponed temporarily.

Talking to reporters here, the DMK chief said Shah has also opined that his view had been "wrongly understood". However if Hindi was imposed the DMK will oppose it at all times, he warned.

Earlier, Stalin called on Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan. He said Purohit told him Hindi will not be imposed. When he asked Purohit whether the Central government will come forward to convey it, the DMK chief quoted Purohit as saying that he (Governor) represented the Union government.

On Monday, a high-level DMK meet had announced state-wide protest demonstrations would be held on September 20 to condemn Shah's Hindi pitch. Besides DMK, other parties in the state, including the ruling AIADMK, have opposed Shah's remarks.