Chennai: Stung by the adroitness with which Rajinikanth seemed to appropriate MGR, the founding member of AIADMK, ruling party leaders on Tuesday picked on the superstar’s espousal of English as one of the points to attack him with.

Clearly, the ruling AIADMK hopes to kick it up as an emotional language issue, but it remains to be seen if the youth, who follow Rajinikanth, will bite and oblige the AIADMK.

Taking undue exception to Rajinikanth for asking Tamil Nadu youth to take up English to go out and conquer the world, AIADMK leader and State fisheries minister D Jayakumar said Rajinikanth wants children to call their parents as Mummy and Daddy and not Amma and Appa.

Clearly the stage now seems set for a Tamil versus Fight, given the stands taken by Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth on the language issue.

Referring to Rajnikanth’s speech at a college here on Monday where he had asked to students to speak in English, Jayakumar said the actor wants the children to call their parents as Mummy and Daddy.

Rajinikanth’s call to students to speak in English to go up in their career is quite contrasting to what fellow actor-turned-politician Kamal urged the people in Madurai. Kamal Haasan only if people speak in Tamil, the language would grow.

The stands of the two superstars is in contrast to one another as according to Kamal Haasan if people appear to be shy of speaking in Tamil, then the language would die.

Kamal spoke in Tamil without any mixture of English words in Madurai whereas Rajinikanth who claimed to be a `Pachai Tamizhan’ or pure Tamilian spoke Tanglish-mix of Tamil and English. Rajinikanth urged to students to speak in English among themselves so that their English improves.

Tamilians should go outside the state and country and grow in their careers, Rajinikanth said adding English will come in very handy to them in this. Students who study in Tamil medium till XII, find it very difficult to cope as subjects in college are in English, Rajinikanth said.

But this is growing into a big controversy with Tamil language zealots lambasting the “outsider” for insulting Tamil and Tamilians.