Five languages get Classical status: Tarun Chugh praises PM Modi, criticises Oppn

New Delhi: Taking a dig at the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s concerns over who should get credit for the Central government’s decision to grant classical language status to five languages, BJP leader Tarun Chugh remarked that despite being in power for decades she did not take any steps in this direction.

“They made no effort to move forward, yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now taken the initiative to include these five ancient languages in the list of classical languages,” the BJP leader remarked calling it a welcome step.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed this move was made with an eye on the Maharashtra elections, the BJP leader responded by stating that when these leaders had the chance, they worked to suppress these languages instead.

“The Narendra Modi-led central government has shown its commitment to preserving India’s languages, Sanatan Dharma, and culture. This decision will create opportunities for the nation’s youth in the field of languages and increase employment prospects in this sector,” said the BJP leader.

For those caught up in the credit debate, Tarun Chugh remarked that they missed their chance to do anything and, instead, worked to stall such efforts. He urged them to recognise this as a great opportunity for the nation and to thank and support Prime Minister Modi, rather than getting entangled in a credit war.

The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi on Thursday approved conferring the status of Classical Language on Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.

Earlier on Thursday, Mamata Banerjee posted on X, “Most happy to share that Bengali/ Bangla has been finally accorded the status of a classical language by Government of India.”

She further added, “We had been trying to snatch this recognition from the Ministry of Culture, GOI and we had submitted three volumes of research findings in favour of our contention. Union government accepted our well-researched claim today evening and we finally reached the cultural apex in the body of languages in India.”

–IANS