Political black comedy at its darkest: MK Stalin counters Yogi Adityanath on language row

Speaking to Smita Prakash on ANI podcast, Adityanath, who is the firebrand Hindutva leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accused Stalin of trying to divide people on the basis of language.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, "The country should not be divided in the name of the language or region. We are grateful to PM Modi, who organised the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi...

"In every Indian's mind, there is a feeling of respect for Tamil, and its history is as old as Sanskrit…When these people's vote banks shift, they try to divide on the basis of territory and language. The people of the country should always be aware of this..."

In counter, Stalin wrote on X, "Tamil Nadu’s fair and firm voice on #TwoLanguagePolicy and #FairDelimitation is echoing nationwide—and the BJP is clearly rattled. Just watch their leaders’ interviews. And now Hon’ble Yogi Adityanath wants to lecture us on hate? Spare us.

"This isn’t irony—it’s political black comedy at its darkest. We don’t oppose any language; we oppose imposition and chauvinism. This isn’t riot-for-votes politics. This is a battle for dignity and justice."

Stalin, who heads the DMK, has accused the BJP of trying to 'impose Hindi' on the southern state in the guise of a National Education Policy and called it a plan to develop Hindi rather than India.

Stalin has fired sharp attacks on Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, whom he last month accused of 'blackmail' by threatening to withhold funds and this week said was "arrogant" and "acting like a king".

Not just the language row, the DMK and BJP are also engaged in a fierce battle over the delimitation issue.

Stalin last week held a multi-state meeting in Chennai protesting against the delimitation issue.

The DMK claims the delimitation will reduce the number of seats from the state in the Lok Sabha.

Stalin said the reduced representation in the Lok Sabha will weaken the "political strength" of the state.