VIJAYAWADA: Lauding Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's move to make the learning of Telugu mandatory in schools, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu went one step further and asked the Chief Minister of his home state to declare that knowledge of the Telugu language would be made compulsory to get jobs in Andhra Pradesh.
“Make knowledge of Telugu language compulsory to get jobs in Andhra Pradesh and make Telugu language mandatory for all students irrespective of medium of language the school adopts in the state,” Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu advised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, expressing happiness over the Chief Minister’s intention of making Telugu language mandatory in schools..
Venkaiah Naidu, who was in Vijayawada to lay the foundation stone for the National Waterways 4 and few National Highway Projects in the state, told Chandrababu Naidu, “You do it and everyone will study Telugu and patronise the mother tongue of millions in the state. It will automatically solve several problems.” The vice-president said he was not against learning other languages but only want people to be proficient enough in their own mother tongue before pursuing other languages.
Describing the mother tongue as eyes and other languages as spectacles, he said without eyes what is use of the spectacles. “You learn your mother tongue first than learning other languages will be beneficial (sic),” he said.
Expressing his concern over the increasing trend among parents who believe that not admitting their children in convents will hinder their growth and future, Venkaiah Naidu pointed out that neither had he studied in an English medium school, nor had Chandrababu Naidu studied in a convent.
“I have today become the Vice President after being minister and heading the party at the national level. Chandrababu Naidu has become Chief Minister. Though he has not studied in an English medium school, Narendra Modi heads a powerful nation -- India - as its Prime Minister,” he pointed out. He emphasised that any officer from other places coming to the state for working here should be able speak and have knowledge of Telugu.
Venkaiah Naidu said as a Telugu person he is happy to see the state on the path of development. “I am happy to be part of an important event today, that sees the state getting waterways and projects to interconnect national highways,” he said and added it is also important that the state capital Amaravati, which is the heart of the state be interconnected with other regions.
He also stressed on the need for interlinking of rivers and protection of rivers and praised the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for leading from front. He claimed that the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme which linked Krishna and Godavari rivers saved Krishna delta from a drought-like situation arising from water scarcity in the Krishna.