Union Home Minister Amit Shah has tried to assuage the fears regarding the alleged plans of the Narendra Modi government to impose Hindi in south Indian States. Days after his Hindi Diwas speech, the BJP leader sounded moderate.

"I have never asked for imposing Hindi over other regional languages. I only requested for learning Hindi as the second language after one’s mother tongue. I myself come from a non-Hindi state of Gujarat. If some people want to do politics, it is their choice," he said.

Shah has made the statement after a hue and cry over his previous remarks. Meanwhile, the BJP is gearing up to decimate its rivals in the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand. In Maha, alliance talks with Shiv Sena are on and nothing can be predicted with certainty as of now.