Union Home Minister Amit Shah apologised to the people of Tamil Nadu for his inability to speak in Tamil, one of the oldest languages in the world, at the start of his speech in Coimbatore on Wednesday amid the controversy over the imposition of Hindi in the state.

“I apologise that I’m not able to speak in one of the world’s oldest languages — Tamil," Shah said after inaugurating BJP’s District Offices from Coimbatore. His comment came during a debate over the three-language rule in the National Education Policy 2020. According to this policy, students must learn three languages: English, Hindi, and a local language. However, the DMK strongly opposes this rule and insists on following the state’s existing two-language policy. Sharpening his criticism of the MK Stalin administration, Shah declared that the "anti-national" DMK would lose power in Tamil Nadu in 2026 and that the state's government would be replaced by the NDA.

“2024 was a historic year for BJP. in 2024 PM Modi was elected PM for the third time. After a long time, we formed a government in Andhra Pradesh. Winning Delhi, Maharashtra, and Haryana shows people have confidence in BJP. We will end 2026 year by forming a government in Tamil Nadu," Shah said. “The time has come we have to remove anti-national DMK from Tamil Nadu. NDA government will be formed in 2026 in Tamil Nadu. The new government will start a new era here. We will finish family politics and corruption. We will root out anti-national activities from the state," the Home Minister added.

In the upcoming Assembly elections, he gave the BJP cadres his word that the party will win a "thumping majority," which would be even larger than what it received in Maharashtra and Haryana. The Home Minister also stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made significant efforts to promote the Tamil language and culture.

“Injustice was done to Tamil Nadu during the UPA era. PM Modi has given crores of money for the development of Tamil Nadu. We have to inform the people of Tamil Nadu about the work by PM Modi for the Tamil language and Tamil culture," Shah said. He criticised MK Stalin’s government for wrongly blaming the Centre for neglecting the state, stating that the real injustice happened during the UPA era, not under the NDA government.

“The CM of Tamil Nadu always accuses PM Modi of neglecting Tamil Nadu. There is no truth in it, I have come with statistics. I am here to tell him – if you are truthful, reply to what I am asking in front of the people of the state," Shah said while listing out the data. “UPA government was there from 2004 to 2014, and it gave Rs 1,52,901 crores in the form of grant-in-aid and devolution to the state, whereas the Modi government had given Rs 5,08,337 crores in 10 years. In addition to that, the Modi government also gave Rs 1,43,000 crore for infrastructure development," Shah added.