Speaking Hindi not an affront to mother tongue: Union Minister

Hyderabad: Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday said the anti-Hindi agitations witnessed sometimes are largely "politically motivated" and speaking Hindi should not be seen as an affront to one's mother tongue. Speaking at 'Dakshin Samvad' organised here by the central government's Department of Official Language to mark its golden jubilee, he emphasised that India is the world's largest democracy, united not by one language but by shared ideals and national commitment.

The BJP leader said Hindi (Rajbhasha) should be learnt and respected alongside our mother tongues. He said he tries to speak in Hindi as it helps him communicate with people across the country, and doing so does not go against his mother tongue, Telugu.

"Those who speak against Hindi and agitate against Hindi, it is not an agitation concerning language. It is political agitation. This is vote bank politics.

Whenever elections are held, before elections, some people try to provoke people by giving speeches in the name of anti-Hindi, anti-Hindu. It is wrong," he said.

Though we have dif ferent mother tongues, we are all one as a nation, he said recalling that Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar, C V Raman and other great personalities had stressed the im- portance of mother tongue. (PTI)