Centre not imposing Hindi, says Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi: Centre clarified on Monday that it had no intention of imposing Hindi but only wanted to promote it as any other regional language.

Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who also heads Department of Official Language clarified that Centre was not imposing Hindi on anyone but rather promoting it like any other regional language.

The minister’s response comes in wake of protest from some section that Centre was imposing Hindi on non-Hindi States.

Recently DMK leader M.K. Stalin had accused Centre of projecting people who could don’t speak Hindi as second class citizens and trying to convert the nation into “Hindia”.

The issue also got highlighted after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the suggestion of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language that important dignitaries including the President and ministers specially the ones who could speak and read Hindi should be requested to give their speech in the same language.

Among other recommendations of the Committee accepted by President also including making announcements on board aircraft in Hindi and then in English.