Make Telugu Mandatory For Securing Jobs: Venkaiah Naidu

Former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu opined students would learn Telugu only if it is made mandatory for securing a job.

Naidu launched Krishna Tarang-2025 event at the Krishna University in Machilipatnam on Thursday. During one of the birthdays of Ramoji Rao, chairman of Ramoji Group, Ramoji suggested that the chief ministers of Telugu states should use Telugu in their official correspondence, to elevate its status. This is the right tribute to Ramoji Rao, Naidu said.

The former V-P reminded that the Britishers used English as the official language for governance but we should replace it with Telugu as we are Telugu people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chalking out plan to preserve all the Indian languages. Plans are afoot to teach medicine and engineering courses in one's own mother tongue. Indians are so dependent on English that they would write on a piece of paper and read it out, even if they do not know how to speak extempore, Naidu pointed out.

There is an opinion that only those people speaking in English are great but mother tongue should be given first importance. Then other languages can be learnt, he said.

He recalled that he participated in the anti-Hindi movement during his college days, as he did not have knowledge about the importance of a language during those days. He also said that he studied in a very normal school but rose to the level of a vice-president. There are 22 languages in the nation and orders have been issued that the MPs can speak in any one of the languages in the Rajya Sabha, he added.