DIMAPUR:
The Rising People’s Party (RPP) has asked the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government in Nagaland to clarify the recent statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that all the eight Northeastern states “had agreed to make Hindi compulsory up to Class X in their states”.
Stating it a “very serious issue”, the RPP said there is a lingering suspicion that the state politicians may have given their personal assurance to Shah in this regard.
“The personal nod given by our state politicians cannot be ruled out because two years ago, the state government banned sale of dog meat on the ‘advisory note’ of a central leader seated in Delhi having no respect for our Naga sentiments or our culture,” the party said in a statement.
The RPP demanded that chief minister Neiphiu Rio, deputy chief minister Y Patton, state BJP president Temjen Imna Along and adviser to school education department KT Sukhalu issue a clarification in this regard immediately.
“The proverbial sell-your-mother attitude of the state politicians eager to please Delhi is not only utterly disgusting, but shameless too,” it said.
The RPP asserted that it stands for unity in diversity and any attempt to impose Hindi in the state or the country is “crass chauvinism” and “majoritarianism at play”. The party said it will oppose such policies tooth and nail.
It pointed out that the state educational policy falls under the prerogative of the state governments and any diktats by the Centre on the issue are violative of the federal structure of the country and thus unacceptable.
The party added that unlike in the south of India, where politicians fiercely guard their regional and linguistic identity, Nagaland is being helmed by “spineless leaders” and of late “rank sycophants”, it is absolutely possible that the Union home minister indeed extracted the nod from “our politicians” to go ahead with the move.