Chandigarh: The Haryana Government has
granted second language status to Punjabi in the state, which
has a sizable population of Punjabis.
"We have issued notification and accorded second language
status to Punjabi...Now, any member (MLA) of the Vidhan Sabha
can ask a question in Punjabi," Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda told reporters here.
The government would make concerted efforts for the
promotion of Punjabi language and literature, he promised.
The community, which includes about 15 lakh Sikhs, has a
sizeable presence in Kurukshetra, Karnal, Faridabad and
Gurgaon.
Last year, A C Choudhry, who was a minister in the
previous Congress cabinet, had raised a banner of revolt,
alleging that his own party-led government had ignored the
Punjabi-speaking community.
To placate the community, Hooda had also helped his party
MLA Shadi Lal Batra, a member of the community, get a Rajya
Sabha nomination.
-PTI
