New Delhi: Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Nitesh Ganga Deb has urged Centre to include Sambalpuri, most spoken language of Western Odisha, under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Mr.Deb had called on Union Minister for Law & Justice, Kiren Rijiju to press this demand. Later he presented the letter.
“Sambalpuri language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in all Western Odisha districts. The people of Western Odisha have an emotional attachment towards this language and they have been demanding consistently at different forums to include Sambalpuri language in the 8th schedule of the Constitution,” Mr.Deb wrote to Union Minister Mr.Rijiju.
The State Government has also recommended the same to the Union Government in this regard. “Your good offices may take necessary steps in this regard at the earliest,” he urged.
In 2015, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written a letter to the then Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the same demand. State had also made similar request earlier in 2014 through a letter by Mr.Patnaik
The State has also submitted a complete proposal based on the recommendation of an expert committee to the Centre.
Sambalpuri/Kosali is the mother tongue of more than 7.5 million people in Western Odisha and spoken for many centuries. It is even used as a medium of teaching in non-formal schools now.