INDIA. Bihar: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has once again fumed at the use of the English language, this time after seeing directives written on the LED display board of the Bihar Vidhan Parishad in Patna. The JD(U) chief, who was participating in the budget session on Monday (March 20, 2023), got angry when he entered the House and saw a display board on which things were written in English.
When the CM entered the Rajya Sabha, he peered up at one of the display screens showing the names of legislators asking queries, ministers answering, and departments involved in English and Hindi.
The Bihar CM, is quite concerned about his mother tongue, which is also the national language of India; thus, he went on to say, “What have you written? It is written ‘honourable ‘speaking time’. What does this mean? Why do you write in such a way in Bihar? Why are you even displaying it? Everything should be in Hindi.” He further raised his voice and asked whether Hindi would be finished off like this.
However, this is not the first time that the JD (U) chief has lost his temper over the use of the English language. But, earlier, he criticized a state government official for delivering a speech in English during an event. He reprimanded the government officer for “forgetting Hindi” during the ‘Kisan Samagam’ in the state capital, Patna. Kumar said, “What is this? Can you not say ‘sarkaari yojana’? I am an engineer by training, and my medium of instruction was English. But it is another thing to use the language for academic pursuits. Why must you do so in day-to-day life?”
Bihar’s longest-serving CM is an engineering student coming from an English background. But, he doesn’t promote English over Hindi. He said, “What has happened to us? During COVID, people were stuck to their screens, and after that, everything changed, and people have forgotten their language. This is not right. You should use your state’s language.”
He slammed the official and said, “I want to point out to you the incongruity of using so many English words. Is it England? You are working in Bihar, practising agriculture, which is the profession of the common folk.”
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