Southern States are sneering at North Block. In fact, the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, DMK is claiming ‘credit’ for Home Minister Amit Shah eating his own words and having to clarify he never pitched for imposition of Hindi. And while the party decided to ‘temporarily postpone” the State-wide protest scheduled for Friday, it warned if Shah persists, it will be opposed at all times.

Likewise, actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan stated the battle for the Tamil language would be “exponentially bigger” than the Jallikattu protest and in Kerala, Chief Minister Vijayan countered Shah’s claim saying Hindi was not the mother tongue of a majority of Indians and saying it unifies the country was ‘absurd’. Expectedly, Hindi turned into a common language for the country has opponents but Shah wouldn’t expect it from within the flock.

Chief Minister Yediyurappa of BJP-ruled Karnataka didn’t oppose it in so many words, but he did say on Monday last that Kannada was the primary language of the State and the government was committed to promote it and their culture and there was no room for compromise.