VIJAYAWADA: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu suggested to the State government to ensure that all the signboards and names of the roads in Amaravati are written in Telugu. He also lauded the decision of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to announce 2018 as the Year to Preserve Telugu.Addressing the gathering at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram after inaugurating Vijayawada Book Festival on Monday, Venkaiah stressed on the importance of books and language. “The power of language is indestructible. I feel Chandrababu Naidu’s announcement to promote and preserve Telugu as my New Year gift,” he said.
Even though he agreed that there was a need to learn other languages such as English and Hindi, it is a person’s duty to learn his/her mother tongue. “Other languages can be learnt for job purposes. But our mother tongue should be learnt so as to live our life,” he remarked.
Venkaiah Naidu further expressed concern over the standards of content in Telugu films. “The standards are declining in the films these days. I would not accept if someone says that films only run if the content is in a particular format. There should be some sort of regulation to it.” However, I am not saying that there should be strict censorship,” he observed. The Vice-President, in banter, said even though people think speaking in Telugu is an old practice, it is old that is gold.