CHANDIGARH:    Dr. Upinderjit Kaur, Education and Languages Minister Punjab today hailed the decision of Mr. Ashwani Kumar Minna, Chief Editor Punjab Kesari New Delhi for promoting the cause of Punjabi Language in Haryana and to enforce the Congress led State Government to give due status and recognition to mother tongue in the neighbouring state.

In a statement issued here today Dr. Upinderjit Kaur said that the Haryana Government had ever ignored the Punjabi Language being spoken by more than half of its population at the behest of central congress leadership for the reason best known to all the Punjabis. The neighbouring state, carved out of Punjab, by not fulfilling the aspirations of lacs of Punjabis, had instead honoured the Tamil language as a second language which is being spoken by not more than hundred people in the state, she said.

 The Language Minister added that the Punjab Govt had already enacted legislation for compulsory use of Punjabi language in all the government offices and subordinate courts and in all the schools as a medium of Punjabi from class 1st to Class 10th. She said that though the Haryana state had also passed a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha for making Punjabi as second language but the implementation was only on the papers and have not shown a will power to give due status to the Punjabi language in the state. There is a need of the hour to enforce and implement the use of Punjabi as an official language by launching a massive drive with the full cooperation of all the people and the media has to play its due role in awaking the public as well as the Government to honour the mother tongue, she said.

Dr. Upinderjit Kaur, appreciating the efforts of all newspapers of Punjab and Mr. Ashwani Minna, hoped that the Punjab press would continue to use its best efforts for the cause of Punjabi language in Union Territory Chandigarh and neighbouring states also.