'Attempts to divide society': Ashwini Vaishnaw slams Stalin's 'Hindi swallowing languages' claim; nudges Rahul Gandhi for response

NEW DELHI: Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday fired back at Tamil Nadu chief minister after he claimed that "Hindi imposition" "swallowed" over a score of

regional languages

in the North amid the ongoing rift with the Centre over its

three-language policy

under NEP.
Responding to Stalin's social media post, Vaishnaw said that Tamil Nadu CM cannot hide poor governance by his attempts to divide society. The railway minister also demanded a reaction from leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over Stalin's claim.
"Poor governance will never be hidden by such shallow attempts to divide society," Vaishnaw said.
"It will be interesting to know what the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi Ji, has to say on this subject. Does he, as MP of a Hindi-speaking seat, agree?," he added.

Earlier, Stalin called "real" regional languages of North India "relics of the past", and said that "push for a monolithic Hindi identity is what kills ancient mother tongues".
"More than 25 north Indian native languages have been destroyed by the invasion of hegemonic Hindi-Sanskrit languages. The century-old Dravidian movement safeguarded Tamil and its culture because of the awareness it created and the various agitations," Stalin said.
"My dear sisters and brothers from other states, Ever wondered how many Indian languages Hindi has swallowed? Bhojpuri, Maithili, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Magahi, Marwari, Malvi, Chhattisgarhi, Santhali, Angika, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Mundari and many more are now gasping for survival. The push for a monolithic Hindi identity is what kills ancient mother tongues. UP and Bihar were never just "Hindi heartlands." Their real languages are now relics of the past," the DMK chief wrote on X.
Earlier on Tuesday, Stalin said that Tamil Nadu was prepared for "another language war" as tensions continue to rise with the Centre over the alleged 'imposition of Hindi' through the

National Education Policy

(NEP).
"NEP is a direct threat to our children's future. We do not oppose any language. But we will always resist any attempts to impose a language on us,” Stalin asserted.
He further clarified that their opposition to the NEP is not solely because it promotes Hindi, but because the policy pushes students out of schools.