HYDERABAD: A language war has broken out in Telangana over the declaration of Urdu as the state’s second official language. The announcement made by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has been roundly blasted by both the BJP and the Congress as ‘appeasement politics’.


Rao, or KCR as he is referred to, had made the announcement in the Telangana Assembly on Thursday.
 
'Urdu as a second language has been a demand for a long time,” he said. “I am declaring, not considering districts as a unit but the state as a unit, in the entire Telangana State, Urdu will now be practised as the second official language,'' he said.
 
Rao, also known as KCR, even asked all government offices – from the Chief Minister’s Office to District Collectorate - to receive all petitions in Urdu as well.
 
The Chief Minister told the Assembly that the demand to make Urdu a second language has been there for a long time. KCR further said that every office in the state will have an Urdu speaking officer henceforth.
 
The Hyderabad-based AIMIM – which wields considerable influence in the city and other Muslim dominated areas across the state – has hailed the move and praised the CM for fulfilling its long pending demand.
 
Besides making Urdu as the second official language, KCR has even promised to hike reservation for Muslims under the OBC category.
 
At a previous occasion, KCR had stated that his party TRS will raise its proposal to hike reservations to backward sections among Muslims in Parliament and could also approach Supreme Court on the matter.