Home Minister Amit Shah echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words on the Tamil language on February 28.
Hours after Modi in his Mann Ki Baat expressed regret on not being able to learn the south Indian language, Shah said, addressing a rally in Viluppuram in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, he's upset that he can't talk to his supporters in Tamil, "one of the oldest and sweetest languages".
“I am sad that I cannot talk to you in Tamil that is one of the oldest and sweetest languages of India, I seek your forgiveness,” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
The language card is an important one, when it comes to politics in the South, as many feel that the Hindi language has always been imposed on them, especially by the saffron party.
PM Modi in his monthly radio address, Mann Ki Baat, praised the Tamil Language and its rich literature, and regretted that he could never learn the language.
Both Modi and Shah's comments come at a critical time. Tamil Nadu will go to polls in April. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has joined hands with the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the state.
In the rally at Viluppuram, Shah also criticised the Congress for divisive dynasty politics and brought up the many scams, like 2G, 3G, that happened during its reign.“On one side, there’s the AIADMK and the NDA thinking about welfare of the poor while the DMK and the Congress on the other end are corrupt and follow politics of divide and rule. Sonia ji is worried about making Rahul baba PM and Stalin is concerned about making Udhayanidhi the CM," he added.Congress was involved in scam of Rs 12 lakh cr & DMK was in alliance with it at the time. All three -- 2G, 3G & 4G are present in Tamil Nadu. 2G means 2 generations of Maran family, 3G means 3 generations of Karunanidhi's family & 4G means 4 generations of Gandhi family: Home Min pic.twitter.com/IJsxHxQYMu
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2021