Rajnath Singh on Language Debate: "No Competition Between Hindi and Tamil, Only Cooperation":

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made comments targeting the DMK party on Saturday, as he asserted that the BJP’s stance is to safeguard Hindi and all other Indian forms of languages.

Castigating people who seek to divide the nation in the name of language, he maintained that there is no competition, only collaboration between Hindi and other Indian languages. While addressing a function organized by the BJP’s Mahila Morcha to perform a play in honor of queen Velu Nachiyar, he claimed that some people were trying to make a fuss about Tamil and Hindi and praised the attempt to glorify her in North India.

Scholars noted that Singh suggested the other Indian languages are as important as Hindi, and one’s strength adds to the other.

The ruling party of Tamil Nadu, DMK, which is also part of the opposing inda bloc, has been critiquing the center led by BJP for trying to foist Hindi on the Dravidar state. The vicious exchange of statement from both sides is expected to escalate as the southern state prepares for the assembly elections scheduled for the first half of next year.

Singh went on to say that there are those who idolize Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, which is sad as he was a tyrant towards adherents of other faiths.

He remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has entered the period of women-driven development because women are now receiving permanent commissions in the military.

The senior BJP leader also paid tribute to Queen Mangammal of Tamil Nadu on the occasion and praised her rule. \

He recalled that women were central to transforming the freedom struggle into a mass movement in India. PM Modi too has often praised a queen who ruled in the eighteenth century with the name Nachiyar as one of the most commendable ladies who defied the British rule.