Centre trying to promote its Hindutva agenda: CPI on Naidu's Hindi remark

New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Commenting on Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu's assertion that India cannot progress without Hindi, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government is trying to promote its Hindutva agenda. "Language is a very sensitive issue. The minister should remain sober. India is a country where we have a number of languages and the minister should understand this. But they want to promote their Hindutva agenda. I do not agree with Venkaiah Naidu and the Government. India is a diverse country with many languages. They are trying to impose Hindi as the national language," CPI leader D. Raja told ANI. Naidu yesterday said Hindi is the national language of India and it was impossible to progress without the language. "Hindi is our national language and it is impossible for India to progress without Hindi. It is unfortunate that everyone is after English medium; I am against Britishers, but not their language. We should learn all languages, but by learning English our mindset is also changing, this is wrong. This is against the interest of the nation," Naidu said. He further said that it was necessary for people to learn their mother languages as the dominance of English medium have shadowed their cultural heritage. "Since the majority of the population speaks Hindi, it is a necessity to learn Hindi, but before that we need to learn our mother language," he said. The minister's comment comes in the backdrop of apprehensions expressed by people, especially in the southern states over the usage of Hindi language. Parties like Karnataka's Janata Dal (Secular) and Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) have criticised the Centre for 'imposing' Hindi language in their states. DMK acting president M.K. Stalin threatened to begin an anti-Hindi agitation after milestones marked in Hindi were seen on Tamil Nadu highways. In Bengaluru, protests took place over Hindi being used as a language in the Metro train sign boards. (ANI)