Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has flayed the State Government for the Cabinet move to rollback its decision to make proficiency in Malayalam mandatory for government jobs.
In a statement here on Wednesday, Achuthanandan said the government had revealed its mindset towards Malayalam. He urged all those who love their mother tongue to start a joint fight against the government’s flawed decision.
“It was after years of long wait and agitations that the classical language status was granted to Malayalam. At this stage, we could open the Malayalam University. In tune with these developments, Malayalam was made mandatory for getting government jobs in Kerala. Those who had not studied Malayalam up to Class X had to pass an aptitude test in Malayalam. But now the same Cabinet has decided to do away with the decision succumbing to the pressures of a small minority, who are hell-bent on not studying Malayalam,” Achuthanandan said.
Achuthanandan said that there were allegations that the government had also been acting as per the wish of the CBSE and ICSE education lobbies.
He also pointed out that the government’s controversial decision had come when efforts were in progress to make all government procedures in Malayalam. “The decision will sabotage all these efforts,” he said.
Achuthanandan also said that the Oommen Chandy Government, in its 100-day action programme, had also mentioned that Malayalam would be made mandatory for government jobs.
Achuthanandan said if the linguistic minorities, located on the borders of the state, were against learning Malayalam, their case should be considered separately.
Govt Decision Snowballing into a Controversy Meanwhile ‘Malayalam Aikya Prasthanam’, a joint body of three Malayalam language lovers, led by Puthusseri
Ramachandran, Justice V R Krishna Iyer and M K Chandrraj, has come out against the government’s move to revert its own decision to make Malayalam compulsory for government jobs. In a press release, the ‘Malayalam Aikya Prasthanam’ pointed out that the government, in its 100-day action programme had mentioned that it would make Malayalam compulsory.