Cabinet clears Mission Karmayogi, bill on J&K

NEW DELHI : The Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the Jammu and Kashmir Languages Bill 2020 that will make five languages — Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri and English — the official languages of the region. Mission Karmayogi, a new scheme to streamline training and competency building of civil servants, was also approved.

Information and Broadcasting (I&B) minister Prakash Javadekar, flanked by Union minister Jitendra Singh, told reporters about the decision at a cabinet briefing. “This has been done based on demand by the people,” said Javadekar. The I&B minister said more details of the bill would emerge once it is brought to the parliament. Singh thanked the PM for the move. The cabinet also approved the Mission Karmayogi scheme for government officers. At the apex of the scheme will be the PM’s HR Council — consisting of select Union ministers, chief ministers, international leaders and officials — that will determine the ‘right person for the right role’ and decide assignments accordingly.

Locals welcome inclusion of Dogri JAMMU: Residents, on Wednesday, hailed Centre’s decision to include Dogri, Hindi and Kashmiri, Urdu and English as the five official languages of Jammu and Kashmir.

“It was oppressive that Dogri was not the official language of J&K. This was affecting those seeking vernacular jobs and was leading to existential threat to the language,” stated Manu Khajuria Singh, London-based founder of Voice of Dogras.

‘Exclusion of Punjabi from J&K languages bill ‘anti-minority’ move’ SRINAGAR: The All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) on Wednesday flayed the Centre over the exclusion of Punjabi from the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, describing the move as “anti-minority”.

“Exclusion of Punjabi from the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill 2020 is an antiminority move,” APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said in a statement.