"Why A Hindi Name?": DMK Takes On Congress Over Rahul Gandhi's "Chhatron Ka Goonj"

The Congress and the DMK, which ended their decades-long alliance after the recent assembly election in Tamil Nadu, are now busy bickering. The lastest flashpoint is Rahul Gandhi's "Chhatron ka Goonj" programme, which the DMK has slammed over its Hindi name, giving the issue a language spin and placing the former ally in the same category as the BJP.  The southern party has questioned why a north Indian language has been chosen to name the programme. The Congress has called the argument "absurd".

"Rahul Gandhi named the event 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' in Hindi. Didn't anyone tell him that Hindi is unwelcome in Tamil Nadu? Why couldn't it be named in English or Tamil?" DMK's A Saravanan said today.

"We have criticised the BJP for using Hindi for its schemes. So what is the difference between the Congress and the BJP if they follow the same approach?" he had added.

Congress' Mohan Kumaramangalam declared that the DMK spokesperson is "sounding like a jilted lover".

"The DMK's comment is absurd. The Congress did a student programme. It is a nationwide programme. Rahul Gandhi spoke in English in the programme and it was translated in Tamil," he added.

The Congress leader also pointed out how M K Stalin, as Chief Minister, had flagged off Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kanniyakumari. That time he did not speak of any language barrier, he said.

As a DMK ally, the Congress had supported the Tamil identity cause while supporting Hindi nationally when it is chosen by students as a part of the three-language policy.

But since the breakup, the DMK has routinely criticised the Congress for picking a Hindi name for Gandhi's interactions with students. 

Following the end of the alliance, the DMK has walked out of the India bloc and refused to sit anywhere near the Congress in parliament.

The two parties have also clashed over multiple other issues, including protests on Special Intensive Revision on voter lists. The DMK, while saying it supports the Opposition stance, stayed away from the protests in Delhi.

During the Monsoon Session of parliament, the DMK refused to join the Opposition walkout during crucial votes on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill and instead participated in discussions on the Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill.