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(With inputs from agencies)

NEW DELHI: The raging debate over Hindi as a common language for the country triggered by Union home minister Amit Shah's remarks continued to draw sharp reactions on Monday, with several regional leaders rejecting the idea of a common language. Interestingly, BJP 's own chief minister in Karnataka B S Yediyurappa also joined the opposition chorus.In his address last week, Shah had pitched for a common language for the country and said that Hindi can unite India since its the most spoken language. The BJP chief had also asked everyone to use their native languages as much as possible.Reacting strongly to Shah's remarks, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan today opposed any attempt to "impose" Hindi on people, saying it was a promise made to the country decades back which "no Shah, Sultan or Samrat must renege on.""The unity in diversity is a promise that we made when we made India into a Republic. Now, no Shah, Sultan or Samrat must renege on that promise. We respect all languages, but our mother language will always be Tamil," he said in a video.Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader B S Yediyurappa asserted that Kannada is the principal language in the state and its importance would never be compromised."All official languages in our country are equal. However, as far as Karnataka is concerned, #Kannada is the principal language. We will never compromise its importance and are committed to promote Kannada and our state's culture," Yediyurappa tweeted.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted a list of several Indian languages along with the national flag with the caption: "India’s many languages are not her weakness."The Congress had earlier said that the three-language formula should not be tinkered with and controversies must not be stirred up on “emotive” issues settled by Constitution-makers.DMK chief M K Stalin , who was among the first to lash out at Shah over his remarks, announced that his party will stage a protest on September 20 against the Centre's "imposition" of Hindi language .The agitation will be held to nip in the bud the "adverse effects" of "Hindi imposition on 'mother Tamil' and the mother tongues of people of other (non-Hindi speaking) states," a resolution adopted at the meet said.In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CPI leader Binoy Viswam said that Shah's assertion that Hindi was the only unifying factor in the making of a modern India was like denying the national reality."No one in our country can deny the importance of Hindi that has played a significant role in the making of a modern India. But to say that it is the only unifying factor is equal to shutting our eyes to the national reality. It is an expression of contempt towards all other Indian languages that have contributed tremendously to the nation's unity and its march to social progress," Viswam wrote.Meanwhile, Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda sought to clarify Shah's statement, saying that Hindi is a "unifying" language and nobody is saying that it will take precedence over regional languages."Hindi is a unifying language, it does not mean it will boss over other regional languages of the country, the three languages formula is accepted by us all. Even Prime Minister spoke on the floor of the House in the last session that all regional languages will be respected," Gowda was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb claimed that those who are opposing Hindi as the 'rashtra bhasha' (national language) do not love the country.He, however, made it clear that he was not against English or was not trying to impose Hindi."The people who are opposing Hindi as the national language are those who have no love for the country ... I am supporting Hindi as the national language as most of the people of our country speak Hindi," the chief minister said.