BENGALURU: Union home minister Amit Shah’s comment that people from different states should speak in Hindi, not English, and that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English has drawn the ire of Congress and JD(S) in Karnataka.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah on Friday said the comment is not only against federal principles of the country but is also an insult to other languages. “Amit Shah should immediately withdraw the statement,” he said.
HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) alleged that the Centre and the Union home minister are trying to forcibly run their personal agendas. “But they won’t succeed,” he said.
Social media was also abuzz with comments under the hashtag IndiaAgainstHindiImposition. Some Kannada organisations said they will not accept the imposition of Hindi in the state. “The time has come for non-Hindi states to protest,” they said.
Pointing out that Hindi is not India’s national language, Siddaramaiah accused Shah of betraying Gujarat, his home state, and Gujarati, his mother tongue, for Hindi for his political agenda.
“Linguistic diversity is the essence of our country and we will respect each other’s sentiments,” the former chief minister said. “Pluralism is what has held our nation together and attempts by BJP to undo this will be met with strong opposition. ” He added: “Imposing Hindi is a sign of coercive federalism rather than cooperative federalism. The myopic view of BJP on languages needs correction. Their opinions are derived from pseudonationalists like Savarkar. ”
