Bhasha Surakshya Sammilani president Baishnab Parida has requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to greet the Odia people in Odia language instead of English during national and international festivals.
Parida in a statement on Sunday said like earlier the Chief Minister greeted the people of the State in English for Vijaya Dashami in some Odia channels from New Delhi. This has hurt the sentiments of many language lovers of the State.
“While the Chief Ministers of other States and the Union Ministers are greeting the people of their States in their own mother-tongue during the national festival, our beloved Chief Minister speaking in English has definitely saddened many people,” added Parida.
He further said besides the Chief Minister should brief the vernacular media in Odia, because 90 per cent of the people in Odisha don’t understand English or can’t write it. In these circumstances, the Chief Minister of the State speaking in English instead of Odia is humiliating for them.
During different meetings the Chief Minister is making brief speeches in English, Hindi and Odia. This should change. In these speeches 60 of the content is in English and Hindi and the rest 40 per cent is not even in Odia. Many think this Khichidi language is also having an impact on the youths and the media, he said.
After the Government announced that Odisha’s Official language Act was implemented from August 16, 2016, the Chief Minister and the senior officials should speak in Odia instead of a mixture of English, Odia and Hindi. Because if the Chief Minister is not able to speak and write in Odia how can he direct his Ministers and officers to do all work in Odia, Parida questioned.