Even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s ‘One nation, one language’ comment has triggered massive opposition in Tamil Nadu, BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan called Tamils “ungrateful”.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Pon Radhakrishnan said, “Tamil is one of the oldest languages in the world. No other Prime Minister has said these words. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone one step further and said that Tamil is older than Sanskrit. If we had any love for language, we should have celebrated it for a year. We didn’t do so. Tamils don’t know how to celebrate. Tamils are ungrateful.”
The Congress was quick to hit out at Ponnar, as he is popularly known, urging him to issue an apology for his comments. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) Chief Kamal Haasan suggested, “It appears he (Pon Radhakrishnan) has changed his language”.
The BJP leader, however, issued a clarification over his remarks on Tuesday, stating, “I didn't call all eight crore Tamils as ungrateful. I only meant those who play politics over Tamil.”
Pon Radhakrishnan, who was BJP’s lone MP from Kanyakumari was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. He was Minister of State (MoS) Shipping and MoS for Road Transport and Highways in the first Narendra Modi government.
His controversial remarks come days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that only Hindi can unite the country. Taking to Twitter on the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Shah stated, "There are several languages in India and they have their own value, but it is important for the nation to have one language that it is identified by in the world. If there is one language that can unite the country, it's Hindi."
Amit Shah’s comments have been slammed by several leaders in the south, including the DMK, which has planned a protest against Hindi imposition on September 20. DMK President MK Stalin had stated, “Amit Shah must retract the statement that Hindi is the unifying language of India. This in India, not Hindia and PM Modi must make his stance on this matter clear. If not, they would have to see protests not only in Tamil Nadu but also from other states that are losing their rights due to the Hindi imposition.”
In Karnataka, Chief Minister Yediyurappa of the BJP also reacted to ‘One nation, one language’ proposal stating, “All official languages in our country are equal. However, as far as Karnataka is concerned, Kannada is the principal language. We will never compromise its importance and are committed to promote Kannada and our state's culture.”
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has also condemned Amit Shah’s comments suggesting that the RSS is trying to open a new conflict in the country.