Mamata slams inclusion of Gujarati in JEE Mains
Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday raised her voice against the inclusion of Gujarati as an optional language in Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main test and accused the Modi government of "maligning" and "meting out injustices" to other regional languages. She also threatened protests unless the issue was decided "gracefully".
In a series of tweets, Banerjee alleged that the Central government intended to "malign" all regions and regional languages.
She had also raised her protest after Bengali was ousted as a medium of examination in the JEE.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Banerjee said: "Our country is India, which is home to so many religions, cultures, languages, creeds and communities. However, maligning all regions and regional languages is the intention of the government at the centre."
She further stated: "Joint Entrance Exams so long were conducted in English and Hindi languages. Surprisingly, now only Gujarati language has been added. Such a step is not at all praiseworthy."
The Chief Minister launched a protest against the Centre after it decided to include Gujarati language as the medium of Joint Entrance Examinations.
The exams were earlier conducted in two languages — Hindi and English.
Banerjee stated that she had no personal enmity against any language but opting out other languages in an important nationwide examination was uncalled for.
"I love Gujarati language. But, why have other regional languages been ignored? Why injustice is being meted out to them? If Gujarati has to be there, then all regional languages including Bengali must be there," Banerjee asserted.
She also reminded the Centre that if the issue is not properly dealt with, there will be mass protests against the Centre's decision. She also pointed out that the Narendra Modi government has no right to hurt the sentiments of people who speak in regional languages.
"Unless this issue is decided gracefully, there will be strong protests all around as sentiments of people who speak other regional languages would be deeply hurt due to this injustice," Banerjee further said.
It may be mentioned here that Bengali language was not included as one of the mediums of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) by the Centre. This had resulted in resentment among the medical aspirants from the state. The Chief Minister had turned a rescuer as her government wrote to the Centre urging the inclusion of Bengali.
Senior government officials also lobbied in Delhi to meet the state government's demand.
Following tremendous pressure from the Mamata Banerjee government, the Centre finally included Bengali as the official language to write the exams along with Hindi and English.
