India, April 23 -- Reacting to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's stand on Hindi as an optional language in the state, on Monday Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin had posted on X: "This is a clear manifestation of his trepidation over the widespread public condemnation against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states." He continued, "Does the Union government officially endorse his position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in Maharashtra as the third language under National Education Policy (NEP); and if so, will the Union government issue a clear directive to all states affirming that NEP does not require the compulsory teaching of a third language?"

A day after, Fadnavis sharply reacted to Stalin's remark, a...