NEW DELHI: After practising ‘soft Hindutva’, the Congress is now aiming to reach out to the masses in the cow belt by pushing a Hindi agenda. Party leaders say there is a “realisation” among the top leadership that language is also an issue that the party has not been able to effectively communicate with the people in the Hindi heartland, where the BJP has the largest footprints.
The process was rolled at the party’s ‘Nav Sankalp Shivir’ earlier this month in Rajasthan, as their ‘Udaipur declaration’ was read in Hindi, a first that differentiated the Udaipur Chintan Shivir from previous such conclaves.
The party also decided to release the Hindi version of the Modi government’s report card on completing eight years of governance on May 26.
“It was a collective decision to release both documents in Hindi, keeping in mind the people in Hindi heartland. It was also keeping in mind the push by the Modi government to use Hindi as an alternative to English,” said a party leader, who was part of the Udaipur Declaration drafting committee.
Home Minister Amit Shah recently triggered a debate by saying that Hindi should be an alternative to English, which was criticised by the non-Hindi-speaking states, particularly in the South.
However, one of the most trusted allies of the Congress, DMK chief and TN Chief Minister MK Stalin, while sharing a dais with Modi on Thursday, asked the Centre not to impose Hindi on the people of the state. To make inroads in southern states, Modi lauded the Tamil language and culture. The Congress spokespersons have also been told to speak both in Hindi and English while addressing press conferences.
Anil K Shastri, chairman of, Congress Hindi Department, says the use of Hindi has always been part of their work culture but now there is a realisation that they need to adopt it tactically to connect with the masses in Hindi-speaking states.
“We have to see that BJP’s core vote bank lies in Hindi-speaking states though efforts are to make inroads in southern states,” he said.