A political controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu after a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionary and four others were booked for defacing Hindi text on a signboard at Pollachi Junction railway station. The incident has intensified the ongoing language dispute between the ruling DMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the latter accusing the DMK of "double standards" when it comes to respecting languages.

Following the defacing, Tamil Nadu BJP vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy challenged the DMK to erase the Hindi words from the recently released commemorative coin honouring late DMK president M. Karunanidhi. "Hello DMK cadres, will you wipe off the Hindi words from this coin using ‘Tar’? Oh! You want respect for Karunanidhi, but not for the poor, rural children students," Thirupathy wrote on X, tagging senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP state chief K. Annamalai.

Vandalism at Pollachi Junction

According to the Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway, a group of men entered Pollachi Junction around 7:20 a.m. on Sunday and applied black paint over the Hindi lettering on one of the station’s signboards. Authorities responded swiftly, identifying the offenders and booking them under relevant provisions of the Railways Act.

"RPF Pollachi identified the defaulters and registered a case under relevant provisions of the Railways Act, and they will be prosecuted. The same was rectified immediately," the Palghat Division of the Southern Railway announced in a statement.

The act of defacing Hindi text comes in the midst of Tamil Nadu’s ongoing opposition to the Centre’s National Education Policy (NEP), with the DMK-led state government accusing the BJP of attempting to impose Hindi on Tamil-speaking citizens.

NEP Funding Row and BJP-DMK Clash

The language debate has intensified after the Centre recently withheld ₹2,150 crore in funds meant for Tamil Nadu, citing the state’s refusal to implement the NEP. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has firmly opposed the policy, stating that Tamil Nadu’s rejection of NEP is not just about the imposition of Hindi but also due to concerns over its broader impact on students and the principles of social justice.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a letter to Stalin, urged him to "rise above political differences" and not view NEP with a "myopic vision." However, Stalin remains adamant, declaring that he will not allow any initiatives that undermine the Tamil language, the state, or its people as long as he and the DMK are in power.

The Tamil Nadu government has also refused to sign an MoU with the Centre for the PM Schools for Rising India (PM-Shri) scheme, a project aimed at upgrading 14,500 schools nationwide and benefiting 1.8 million students. These institutions are intended to serve as model schools that align with NEP 2020, but the DMK has resisted the initiative.

BJP’s Challenge Over Karunanidhi Coin

Amid the escalating language row, the BJP has questioned the DMK’s consistency in its stance on Hindi. Thirupathy’s remarks on the commemorative ₹100 coin—released last year by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in honour of Karunanidhi—highlight what the BJP sees as hypocrisy in the DMK’s opposition to Hindi. The party argues that while the DMK disrespects Hindi in public places, it has no issue accepting a coin with Hindi inscriptions to honour its late leader.

The latest controversy underscores the deep-seated linguistic and political tensions between the DMK and BJP in Tamil Nadu. While the DMK continues to resist any perceived imposition of Hindi, the BJP is leveraging the party’s actions to question its commitment to its own principles. As the dispute over the NEP and language policies intensifies, the political battle between the state and the Centre is set to escalate further.