Rahul Gandhi countered Amit Shah over his 'one language' tweet
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday sought to counter Union Home Minister Amit Shah's over his 'one language' tweet.
"India's many languages are not her weakness," tweeted Rahul Gandhi from his official account. Preceding these words, is mention of 23 languages that are spoken across India. The list includes Hindi and English. Indian flag is present next to the mention of each language.
Rahul Gandhi's tweet has come after Amit Shah said on Hindi Divas (September 14) that 'one language' can bring the entire nation together. In his tweet, he suggested that Hindi is a language that can bind all Indians in unity.
Amit Shah's tweet drew strong reaction from outside the Hindi belt, especially from southern India.
AIADMK on Saturday cautioned against 'imposition' of Hindi while the DMK demanded that Amit Shah withdraw his view since it would "infringe national integrity."
After Shah said Hindi is the most spoken language which can unite the nation as a common language, Tamil Nadu parties rallied against it.
AIADMK leader and Tamil culture Minister K Pandiarajan said: "if the Centre imposes Hindi unilaterally, there will only be (adverse) reaction and no support, not only in Tamil Nadu, but also in states like Bengal, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh."
DMK chief M K Stalin said Shah's views were 'shocking'.
"This will certainly infringe national integrity and hence he should withdraw his views immediately," he told reporters.
The DMK would take a decision on the ways and means to oppose Shah's stand at a high-level party meet to be held on September 16, the party president said.
Pluralism was India's biggest strength and unity in diversity was the nation's cultural identity, Stalin said and alleged that the BJP government was taking steps to 'erase' such an identity ever since it assumed office at the Centre.
(With inputs from PTI)
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