VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena Party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Konidela Pawan Kalyan asserted that both imposing a language forcibly and opposing a language blindly do not contribute to achieving national and cultural integration.
His remarks followed criticism from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders over his statements on the National Education Policy (NEP) and the alleged imposition of Hindi.
Clarifying his stance, Pawan Kalyan asserted that while he never opposed Hindi as a language, he firmly opposed making it compulsory.
“When the NEP 2020 itself does not enforce Hindi, spreading false narratives about its imposition is nothing but an attempt to mislead the public,” he said.
Taking to social media platform X on Saturday, Pawan Kalyan wrote, “As per NEP 2020, students have the flexibility to learn any two Indian languages (including their mother tongue) along with a foreign language. If they do not wish to study Hindi, they can opt for Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Assamese, Kashmiri, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bodo, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Meitei, Nepali, Santali, Urdu, or any other Indian language.”
He further emphasised that the multi-language policy is designed to empower students with choice, promote national unity, and preserve India’s rich linguistic diversity.
“Misinterpreting this policy for political agendas and claiming that Pawan Kalyan changed his stance only reflects a lack of understanding. Jana Sena Party firmly stands by the principle of linguistic freedom and educational choice for every Indian,” he said.