Hours after the Centre introduced three bills to revamp the criminal justice system, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin termed the bills a case of "Hindi imposition" and called the exercise "linguistic imposition".
Earlier on Friday, Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah introduced three bills to replace the current laws governing the Indian criminal justice system. As per the Centre's plan, Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 will be replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 will be replaced with Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and Indian Evidence Act, 1872 will be replaced by Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023.
As the names of all the three bills are in Hindi, Stalin lashed out at the Centre in a post on Twitter and said the move will be resisted.
Stalin also raised the historical opposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after these three bills do not have the moral right to utter the word "Tamil" now.
What did Stalin say?
Tamil Nadu CM and DMK supremo called the three bills an "audacious attempt" to tamper with India's diversity.
Stalin termed the bills "recolonisation in the name of decolonisation".
Stalin said the BJP and have no moral right to "even utter the word Tamil hereafter."
He said, "Recolonisation in the name of decolonisation! The audacious attempt by the Union BJP Government to tamper with the essence of India's diversity through a sweeping overhaul —Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill— reeks of linguistic imperialism. This is an affront to the very foundation of #INDIA's unity. BJP and Prime Minister Modi have no moral right to even utter the word Tamil hereafter."
Stalin also vowed to contest the alleged Hindi imposition by the Centre and drew a parallel with the historical anti-Hindi movement.
He said, "In the crucible of history, Tamil Nadu and DMK have emerged as the vanguards against such oppressive overtones. From the Anti-hindi agitations to safeguarding our linguistic identity, we have withstood the storm of #HindiImposition before, and we shall do it again, with unyielding determination. The fire of resistance against #HindiColonialism is ablaze once more. The BJP's audacious bid to supplant our identity with Hindi will be opposed resolutely."
Centre afraid of word 'India': Senior DMK leader
Besides Stalin, senior DMK leader and party spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the word 'Bharatiya' was being used in the bills instead of India as "they are afraid of the term", reported PTI.
Elangovan said, "They have changed the name of the bills as 'Bharatiya' instead of 'India'. So how much they are afraid of India; they stand exposed. They are afraid of the term 'India' because the name was taken by opposition parties. These are all very immature...exhibits the immaturity of this government."
Elangovan, a former MP, also questioned the need for tabling the bills on the last day of the session.
"Why should they introduce these bills and what they will do is rake up some trouble there. When the opposition parties walk out, there will be no voting; they will pass it," said Elangovan, adding that the move was "anti-democratic".
