MANDYA: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said there was no intention of making Hindi alone the national language and threaten the identity of regional languages like Kannada.
Senior leader of the party and former Minister Priyank Kharge, who is also Congress's State media cell in-charge, was briefing reporters about Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and the interaction with representatives of many educational institutions and teachers.
"There was a discussion with Rahul Gandhi about the identity of Kannada. Then, he said everyone's mother tongue is important. We respect all languages. Everyone has a right in the Constitution,"Priyank Kharge said.
He said, "Therefore, he (Rahul Gandhi) clearly stated that there was no intention of making Hindi alone the national language and threatening the identity of your language (Kannada)."
Kharge said those who participated in the interactions confirmed that they were not related to the Congress party, but were participating in the yatra to save the Constitution and said that it must start from the schools.
Rajeev Gowda, chairman of AICC Research Department, said most of the participants in the interaction raised the issue of problems in the education sector since the BJP government has come into power and the implementation of NEP (National Education Policy).