(L-R) DMK chief M K Stalin, JD(S) leader HDK Kumaraswamy and Congress leader Siddaramaiah

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah 's strong push for Hindi and call for its expansion to other parts of the country invited criticism from several regional leaders, who slammed the BJP president for attempting to "impose" the language on people.

Speaking on the occasion of Hindi Diwas today, Shah had said that Hindi is spoken by most of the people and is the only language that can unite the whole country . He said efforts will be made to expand Hindi to different parts of the country but not at the cost of other languages.

Coming down heavily on Shah, opposition leaders said that such comments might create a rift between the people.

Tweeting in Kannada, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "The lie that Hindi is a national language should stop. Let it be known to all that it is just like Kannada, one among the 22 official languages of India.

"You cannot promote a language by spreading lies and fake information. Languages flourish by affection and respect for each other."

However, the Congress leader added that he was not opposed to Hindi but the attempt to impose a language.

DMK chief MK Stalin said that such statements "poses a danger to the national unity" and asked Shah to take back his remarks.

Stalin alleged that non-Hindi speaking people were treated as "second-grade citizens".

"We request him to immediately take back his statement. There is an attempt by him to show non-Hindi speaking people as a second-grade citizen. If this is not taken back, DMK will be compelled to prepare itself for the next course of action," he said.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy sought to know from Prime Minister Narendra Modi when 'Kannada Diwas' would be organised across the country.

"If you try to trample other languages and bring out just one, then there is a possibility that people might not accept it. It could create a rift between them," senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid told news agency ANI.

MDMK chief Vaiko said if India has to be a country of Hindi alone, then only Hindi speaking states would be part of it and not several other regions like Tamil Nadu and the north east.

PMK founder leader S Ramadoss dubbed Shah's remark as flawed and said Hindi must not be "imposed."

PMK and BJP were part of the AIADMK alliance in Tamil Nadu for the recent Lok Sabha polls.

"Never can Hindi be India's identity globally ... is it not condemnable to try to usurp the identities of other languages to make Hindi India's global identity," Ramadoss said in his Twitter handle.

Just because Hindi was spoken by a large number of people, it could not bring about integrity. "If Hindi is imposed on people speaking other languages, it will divide the country...there are several examples worldwide," he said.

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said Tamil speaking people should unite to thwart the Centre's policy of "linguistic chauvinism."

The assurance of Jawaharlal Nehru that Hindi will not be made compulsory as long as Tamil Nadu people accepted it voluntarily should be honoured, he said.

"The RSS, Hindutva forces are trying to build a narrative of one election, one nation, one ration card and a single language ... they are rejecting the doctrine of national integrity and unity in diversity," the Left leader alleged in a statement.

Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T T V Dhinakaran said Shah's views were not acceptable.

Urging the home minister to take back his view, he said efforts to "thrust Hindi" would only sow the seeds of hatred among the people.

Dravidar Kazhagam, the ideological fountainhead of Dravidian parties, said Shah's views went against the pluralistic tenets of the Constitution.

DK chief K Veeramani said the suspicion grew stronger that such views were being aired only to divert attention from the economic slowdown.

School education minister and veteran AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan said Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami had categorically stated that only the two language formula of Tamil and English would be followed in Tamil Nadu.

The state does not have Central government run Navodaya Vidyalaya schools to avoid 'imposition' of Hindi, he said.

Senior AIADMK leader and fisheries minister D Jayakumar said sticking to the two language norm was the unanimous stand of his party and it would be continued.

"This is our view. No language not liked by the people will be accepted," he said recalling the anti-Hindi agitations of 1965.

Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy said that Shah should consider the sentiments of the people of the southern region and not push Hindi, as such measures are against the integrity of the country.

Speaking at a function to mark Hindi Diwas, Shah today appealed to the citizens to work towards making Hindi as the most widely used language in the world. He said Hindi should reach every individual and every home in the country.

Shah said while diversity in languages is the strength of India, a national language is needed so that foreign languages and cultures do not overpower the country's own.

He said when the country will face the next general election in 2024, Hindi would have achieved a monumental status.

(With inputs from agencies)

