Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin demanded on Wednesday that Tamil be made an official language in all central government offices, PTI reported. Stalin had earlier claimed that the Centre was trying to impose Hindi through the three-language formula.

“We should take a vow on this day to make Tamil an official language in central government offices,” Stalin said at an event to pay homage to former Indian Union Muslim League president Muhammad Ismail on his 124th birth anniversary.

Stalin also said that the DMK will continue to push for this cause. On Tuesday, the leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly had proposed to implement Dravidian icon CN Annadurai’s “two-language formula” across India, PTI reported.

On Saturday, Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal refuted rumours that the government was planning to impose Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states. Stalin said that the draft was dropped after widespread opposition from Tamils. He had also described it as a “greedy and wrong thing” that will cause a disaster.

Stalin had said that Hindi was not in the blood of people from Tamil Nadu and that his party would wage a war against the government at the Centre if they pushed for Hindi to be taught in schools.

A panel of experts led by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan had suggested that students in non-Hindi speaking states learn a regional language, Hindi, and English. Students in Hindi-speaking states, on the other hand, would be taught Hindi, English, and a modern Indian language from another part of the country, the panel proposed. Several leaders across party lines opposed this draft education policy as it was seen as an attempt to impose Hindi on students.

In Tamil Nadu, a two-language formula, comprising Tamil and English, has been followed since 1968 ever since the DMK rose to power in 1967 under the leadership of Annadurai.