Amit Shah’s one-nation-one-language pitch has, expectedly, drawn severe flak from the southern states, which see in it an aggressive attempt to impose Hindi.

While the strong opposition from Tamil Nadu and Kerala was expected, what must cause concern to the BJP leadership is the vehement reaction from Karnataka where the BJP is in power.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s unambiguous statement voicing his disapproval must have come as a rude shock to the party’s national leadership. “All official languages in our country are equal. However, as far as Karnataka is concerned, Kannada is supreme. We will never compromise its importance,” Yediyurappa said.

“There is no question of imposing Hindi on Karnataka or replacing Kannada or other local languages in South India,” added BJP state spokesperson, G. Madhusudhana.

The Karnataka CM’s stand makes it clear that any attempt to justify the imposition of Hindi would be nothing short of political harakiri in the only state in the South where the BJHP is a dominant force.

Equally strong has been the response from Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. “This is a declaration of war against human hearts loving their mother tongue as their own mother,” thundered Pinarayi, a trenchant critic of the Sangh Parivar’s divisive agenda.

The Shah fiasco comes at a time when the BJP is struggling to erase the miserable failure of the Sabarimala strategy to pep up the party in the state. What is also worrying the party is the un concealed hostility of its major ally, Bharat Dharma Jana Sena.

In Tamil Nadu too, the Home Minister came under severe attack. The 111th anniversary of DMK founder C N Annadurai saw a scathing criticism of Amit Shah’s pitch on the Hindi issue.

The unusually vehement reaction from the southern states will deal a big blow to the party’s attempts to expand its influence in the south, the BJP’s Achilles Heel.

The belligerent mood in the southern states proves if proof were needed that the BJP is kicking up fresh controversies to divert attention from its dismal failure to solve the pressing problems facing the country.

The Modi government must know that any attempt to undermine the spirit of federalism animating the country and impose uniformity in the name of religion and language won’t succeed in the South. The party should, therefore, see the writing on the wall and make adequate amends. (IPA Service)