'Centre spent Rs 2,400 crore on dead language Sanskrit', says Udhayanidhi Stalin; BJP reacts

Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has stoked a controversy around Sanskrit called it a 'dead language' and claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is spending Rs 2,400 crore to revive it. He pointed that the Centre has spent only Rs 150 crore on Tamil in the last ten years.

Stalin also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his claim to have affection for Tamil language and questioned the centre's policy on language stemming from the National Education Policy.

He said, "When you are eager to learn the language [Tamil], why are you making the children learn Hindi and Sanskrit [in the state]," as per CNN-News18.

Reacting to Stalin, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said that he has insulted Sanatana Dharma and that appreciating one's own language does not mean degrading other mother tongue.

"We can appreciate our own language but even Tamil won't allow degrading other languages...If you appreciate one language, it does not mean you are degrading other mother tongue," Soundararajan said speaking to news agency ANI.

The BJP leader from Tamil Nadu further pointed out, "my mother tongue, Tamil is broad-minded and it is the language which is lauded by even the people who speak other languages"

Condemning Stalin's remarks, Soundararajan said "he is insulting the language, particularly used in all our prayers", and demanded him to "take back his words."