Bhubaneswar: While ruling BJD in Odisha has not made its stand clear on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s proposal of ‘One Nation, One Language’ that seeks to promote Hindi as the country’s common language, Congress has questioned the authority of Shah to take such decision and BJP has attempted to justify the leader’s statement.
BJD vice-president Prasanna Acharya said that India is a multilingual country which includes many States with their respective languages and dialects. There should be a national language of the country but opportunity should also be given for enrichment of regional languages and respect the emotions of its speakers.
Senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati said while we have accepted Hindi as our national language, the proposal of Shah is an attempt to dominate the regional languages, which is not favourable for the country.
Bahinipati questioned that is Shah the creator of India. While Hindi is studied as a subject in schools, under what morality is Amit Shah imposing it. He said that anyone who challenges the Odia language, culture and tradition will not be forgiven by the people of Odisha.
BJP leader Pradeep Purohit said that excluding some Southern states, almost all others have accepted Hindi language. He clarified that Shah’s proposal is not to impose a language or to demean any local or regional language.
As Hindi is used widely across the country, it can help to unite the nation. Some people are protesting the use of Hindi since long but their language will also be respected. The people in the area are talking in English but speaking Hindi would be better for the country, he added.