Assembly adopts resolution for classical language status for Telugu

Hyderabad, Feb 22 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Assembly today adopted an unanimous resolution demanding that the Centre recognise Telugu with more than 2000 years of history and most widely-spoken language in the country after Hindi, as a classical languauge.

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy informed the House that a four-member Task Force under the chairmanship of Culture Minister M Satyanarayana had been constituted to evolve a strategy to realise the demand.

Stating that he had written to Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Arjun Singh to press the demand, he said the newly appointed Union Minister of State for HRD D Purandreswari was paying special attention in this regard.

Dr Reddy promised the House that he would take an all-party delegation to New Delhi if it was needed to achieve the demand.

Extending support to the resolution, Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu expressed concern over Union Culture Minister Ambika Soni's reported rejection of the demand and said all parties should raise above narrow politics and work together to get the classical languauge status for Telugu.

Alleging that Union Ministers from Tamil Nadu were behind the Centre changing the norm for grant of such status, Congress Legislator Mandali Buddaprasad said the same ground under which Tamil was granted the status should be applied to Telugu also. All parties in the state should unitedly strive to mount pressure on the Centre in this regard, he stressed.

Evenwhile extending support to the resolution, Telangana Rashtra Samiti floor leader G Vijayarama Rao stressed the need for promotion of English too without which Telugu people would be left out in the era of Globalisation. Sanskrit scholars were first to get angliziced, he added.

Taking a cue from Karnataka, the Andhra Pradesh Government should strictly ensure implementation of Telugu as the Official languauge in the state by taking stringent action against bureacrats not falling in line, All India Majlis-E-Ittihadul Muslimmen floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi said.

''Telugu poetry is as sweet as Urdu poetry and both Qutubjahi and Asifjahi rulers had excelled in Telugu poetry'', he recalled.

While CPI leader Ch Venkat Rao recalled that the Britishers were forced to issue gazette notification in popular Telugu, CPI(M) leader N Narasimaiah lamented that due recognition was not given for Telugu in the lingusitic State for which Potti Sriramulu had sacrificed his life.

BJP leader G Kishan Reddy referring to Mahabharata said demon King Kamsa had engaged wrestlers from Andhra Pradesh to fight against Lord Krishna and his brother Balarama.

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