Chennai, April 21 -- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assertion that only Marathi is compulsory in the state after massive backlash over imposition of Hindi as the third language is a clear manifestation of his trepidation, his Tamil Nadu counterpart and DMK President M K Stalin said on Monday.

He said the remarks of Mr Fadnavis was a clear manifestation of his trepidation over the widespread public condemnation against imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States.

Seeking a clarification from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on this, Mr Stalin sought to know whether the Union Government officially endorsed his position that no language other than Marathi is compulsory in M...