Shah’s comment on Hindi triggers strong reaction in WB

Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment on the usage of Hindi as the primary language of the country drew strong reaction from both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition parties.

Speaking to DH, TMC general secretary and state’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee alleged that BJP leaders like Shah are commenting on such “non-issues” to divert public attention from the failure of their government at the Centre.

“They (BJP) are trying to make fuss over non issues But they are not bothered about the decreasing GDP. This is a part of their effort to divert public attention from their failure on all fronts,” said Chatterjee.

He also asked how can one try to “impose” Hindi as the main language on non-Hindi speakers.

Chatterjee pointed out that apart from their mother tongue, the TMC government has provided students with the opportunity to study three more languages including English, Hindi and another language of their choice as the fourth language.

“In West Bengal we have provided options (to students) to study their mother tongue, English, Hindi and study another language of their choice as fourth language. But how can I impose Hindi as the main language on those whose mother tongue is not Hindi,” said Chatterjee.

Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that one can learn many languages but should never forget his or her mother tongue.

“My best wishes to all on #HindiDiwas. We should respect all languages and cultures equally. We may learn many languages but we should never forget our mother-language,” Mamata tweeted.

Reacting to Shah’s comment, CPM Politburo member Md. Salim said that any attempt on imposing one language on another will jeopardize the spirit of the country.

“Hindi is an official language and not the national language. India is a union of states and is a multilingual state inhabited by people from several religions and languages... Imposing one language on another, one religion on another is jeopardizing the spirit of the country,” said Salim.

“They (BJP) are gradually heading toward this objective because RSS believes in Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan. As an extension of this they always keep saying one nation, one religion, one party, one language. They want to destroy the very base of our composite culture, cultural pluralism. As a Home Minister he can not say such things,” he added.

State Congress president Somen Mitra tweeted that one’s mother tongue is always a matter of passion and love. But this love for one’s mother tongue does not teaches anyone to hate other languages.

“Hindi Divas greetings to all. One’s mother tongue is always a matter of passion and love. But this love for one’s mother tongue does not teache anyone to hate other languages. The colorful diversity of of diverse languages has united our country. This plurality is our heritage,” tweeted Mitra.