Gujarati in JEE-Main exam irks WB CM Mamata, affirms strong protest

Kolkata, Nov 07: The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday questioned the Centre through a social media post that why only Gujarati was allowed in the JEE-Main question papers and not other regional languages.

The TMC supremo took on to Twitter on Wednesday and wrote, "I love Gujarati language. But, why have other regional languages been ignored? If Gujarati has to be there, then all regional languages including Bengali must be there.... 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."

Mamata came up with a point that JEE-Main exams were till date held in English and Hindi. "Surprisingly, now only Gujarati language has been added. Such a step is not at all praiseworthy," said the WB CM.

The TMC supremo also added, "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.... Why injustice is being meted out to them?"

In 2014 the Central Board of Secondary Examinations (CBSE) had included Urdu, Marathi, and Gujarati apart from English and Hindi to the medium of the exams. However, in 2016, the CBSE dropped Urdu and Marathi.

In 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) set up by the Centre took charge of the exams from the CBSE and notified that question papers will be in Hindi, English, and Gujarati in the 2020 JEE-Main slated in January.

The JEE-Main is the first round of exams for selection to IITs.

Besides this, WB Education minister Partha Chatterjee had said that the state government had sent a letter to the HRD ministry requesting it to add Bengali as the medium of the question in the JEE-Main exam.

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday took on to Twitter and wrote, "Constitution mandates equality for all. Why only options for Hindi, English, Gujarati? JEE Main (2020) must be conducted in all regional languages, including Bengali, Oriya, Kannada, Telegu, Tamil, Marathi. Any linguistic discrimination is unconstitutional."