Disputes arise over name, language of Province 2

Published On: June 11, 2018 07:20 AM NPT By: Suresh Yadav

JANAKPUR, June 11: Province 2 has not been able to finalize its name and official language despite numerous attempts to reach consensus on the same. Lots of disputes have arisen on the issue as different parties are adamant on their own demands.

Nepali Congress (NC) parliamentarian of Province 2, Ram Saroj Yadav has demanded that the federal government finalize the name and official language of the province at the earliest. He also warned the government that naming the province ‘Madhes’ and declaring Hindi as its official language would not be acceptable.

“If the government brings such proposals, we would strongly oppose them,” he said.

On the other hand, Ram Chandra Mandal, a leader of the Nepal Communist Party, said the province should be named as ‘Mithila-Bhojpura’ with Maithili as its official language.

“We should decide these matter respecting the language and people of the province. In this regard, there is no opposition against Mithila and Maithili,” he said. Mandal also added that ‘Madhes’ as the name of the province and Hindi as its language would not be acceptable.

Likewise, another leader of the party Ram Chandra Jha also said they would not allow Hindi to be the official language of the province. “If Hindi language gets priority, local languages such as Maithili, Bhojpuri among others would be extinct. So I urge the Maithili community to stay alert,” he said.

The ruling Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), on the other hand, argued that political leaders are unnecessarily making arguments over the province’s name and language.

“More than naming the province, we have to give priority to prosperity of the province. It would be unfortunate to get stuck in the debate of naming the province while neglecting the goal of prosperity,” said Chief Minister Lalbabu Raut. “What would be the problem if we continue calling it Province 2 for some more time?”

While RJPN and FSFN leaders want the province to be named ‘Madhes’ with Hindi as its official language, Nepali Congress and Nepal Communist Party are against the idea. RJPN and FSFN leaders mostly use Hindi to address the provincial meetings while leaders from other parties use languages other than Hindi to give speeches.