‘Hindi as common language impossible’
Even as the debate rages over Hindi being made a common language for the country, Congress leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said it would never become a reality.
Mr Ramesh said, “we may have one nation-one tax, but one nation-one language will never be a reality. We are one nation - we are many languages.”
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday had spoken of the need to make Hindi a common language for the country immediately triggering a reaction from parties in the south which said they would oppose any attempt to impose the language.
Mr Ramesh was delivering the Sir M. Visvesvaraya memorial lecture on the subject, ‘A Prime Minister and an Engineer’ at an event organized by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry to commemorate the birth anniversary of its founder Visvesvaraya, who was also the Diwan of Mysore.
Listing out various achievements of Pandit Nehru and Visvesvaraya, Ramesh said the engineering legend was a perfect model of intellectual integrity and financial probity. He said Nehru had brought in open, liberal and representative democracy and planned economic development, all of which are now under attack.
Governor Vajubhai Vala and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa were present at the event, where Advaith Hyundai director Dr S.V.S. Subramanya Gupta was conferred the Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya memorial award, 2019.