New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar lost his cool and reportedly snapped at DMK leader TR Baalu, who asked for a translation of his speech, delivered in Hindi, at the fourth meeting of Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc on Tuesday. Leaving the other members shocked, Kumar said everyone should be able to understand Hindi, which is our national language. According to reports, he further delved into the details of the Indian freedom struggle and the imposition of English.
The JD(U) veteran got agitated after DMK’s Baalu asked for a translation of his Hindi speech at the Opposition meeting. Unable to comprehend what Kumar said, Baalu asked Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K Jha to translate it for him. However, as Jha sought permission to translate, Kumar reportedly flared up and said, “We call our country Hindustan, and Hindi is our national language. We should know the language.”
The Bihar CM also spoke at length about India's freedom struggle and urged the people to shun the colonial hangover. He further stressed how the country attained independence and liberated itself from the British rule.
According to reports, several leaders had to step in to calm him down. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was also present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, reacting to Nitish Kumar’s remarks, spiritual leader Sadhguru said Hindustan doesn’t mean the land of Hindi language and the states have a linguistic division with the basic tenet being all languages will share the same status.
Taking to X, Sadhguru wrote, “Respected Shri Nitish Kumar ji, Hindustan means the land that lies between the Himalayas and Indu Sagara or the land of Hindus not the land of Hindi language. Linguistic division of states was done with the wisdom that all languages in the country will have same status even though there may be big differences in the populations that speak them. Respectfully request you to avoid such banal statements as there are many states with their own language, literature and culture associated with it.”
Notably, the Opposition alliance held its fourth meeting to discuss the campaign strategies and seat-sharing for the general elections. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she has proposed the name of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as their Prime Ministerial candidate. The proposal was backed by her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal.