Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut backed Union Minister Amit Shah over “one nation, one language.” Raut said Hindi is spoken across the nation and has acceptability. He added that Amit Shah should accept the challenge that there should be one language in all the states.
His remarks come a month after Amit Shah said that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not to local languages. This statement of Amit Shah was opposed by several prominent political leaders in southern states. Many political leaders have said that foisting Hindi on people was not acceptable, and also called it a part of an agenda to weaken the regional languages.
These comments of Raut came in response to a question about Tamil Nadu Education Minister K Ponmudy a day earlier decrying any attempts of alleged imposition of Hindi and questioning claims that learning the language would fetch jobs. Raut was speaking with reporters.
Addressing a convocation event at Bharathiar university, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu’s higher education minister, K. Ponmudy, said that English is more valuable than Hindi as a language. He claimed that those who speak Hindi are engaged in menial jobs. He implied that those who speak Hindi are selling panipuri in the city.
On being questioned about the Tamil Nadu minister’s remark, Raut said his party has always respected Hindi.
“Whenever I get an opportunity in the House, I speak in Hindi. Because the country should listen what I want to say, it is a language of the country. Hindi is the only language which has acceptability and is spoken in the entire country,” he said.
Speaking of Film industry he said that the Hindi film industry is influential in the country and the world.
So, no language should be insulted, he added.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah should accept this challenge that there should be one language in all states. One country, one Constitution, one nishan (emblem/symbol) and one language should be there,” Raut said.
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