Language Row: VCK, Dravidar Kazhagam to take out protest marches across TN

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu police have been put on high alert following intelligence inputs of a possible violence in the state over Union Minister Amit Shah's statement regarding Hindi to be made the communicative medium.

Political leaders, including Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Congress state president M.K. Alagiri, had come out against Shah's statement. Security has been beefed up in several pockets of the state where the possibilities of eruption of violence are on the high.

The preventive measure, according to a senior intelligence officer with the state police, comes after Dalit outfit Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Dravidar Kazhagam(DK) based on the ideals of Tamil social reformer EV Ramaswami Periyar, called for protests across the state against the minister's statement.

Founder leader of VCK and Member of Parliament, Thol Thirumavalavan while speaking to IANS said: "The statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah is part of the fascist designs of the BJP and the people of Tamil Nadu will reject and defeat the imposition of Hindi language in the state."

He said that the party would conduct protest marches across the state against this highly provocative statement from the Union Home minister. Thol Thirumavalavan said that the party executive committee has chalked out the protest programmes against the statement of the Union Home minister.

Thol Thirumavalavan said: "Amit Shah and the BJP do not know the history of Tamil Nadu and the protests that had emanated in the state against imposing Hindi language. The imposition of a link language would create a wedge and divide the people of the country and BJP should refrain from doing this."

He, however, did not elaborate on the protest march plans and the date of conducting the marches. Sources in the state intelligence told IANS that the state police are prepared for any spontaneous protests in certain pockets where the party is strong.

Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) leader K. Veeramani also said that the organisation will conduct protest marches across Tamil Nadu against the arbitrary move of the Union government to impose Hindi on the people of Tamil Nadu.

"The people of Tamil Nadu are already agitated over the Union Home minister's statement on imposing Hindi on our people. There will be stiff resistance from Tamil Nadu and we will line up the people of Tamil Nadu against this unilateral move of the Union government and Amit Shah," Veeramani said.

He also asked Amit Shah to study the history of the long struggles undertaken by the Tamil people in earlier days against the imposition of Hindi.

The protest marches, he said, would be conducted in a peaceful manner and called upon the Union Home Minister to apologise to the people of the country and not to create a wedge between the different states using such statements.

Veeramani said that the protest marches will be conducted on Monday in various parts of Tamil Nadu against this move of the Union government.