Nalin Kohli terms PM Modi's decision to deliver speeches in Hindi as a matter of pride for the nation

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nalin Kohli on Monday described it as a matter of pride for the nation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opted to deliver his speeches in Hindi even on international soil.

Commenting on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's declaration that Prime Minister Modi will be giving his speech in Hindi at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session this year, Kohli told ANI, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been consistently speaking in Hindi and it is a matter of pride for the country that he even on international soil he chooses to speak in the national language."

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at a function organized on the occasion of Hindi Diwas here, informed participants that the prime minister will be delivering his address at the UNGA in Hindi. He recalled that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had delivered his speech at the United Nations in Hindi.

"I still remember that as a minister I kept my views in Hindi even after requests coming not to do so, I said that I will speak only in Hindi..... Our current Prime Minister will be delivering his speech in Hindi at the United Nations. Even he communicates in Hindi with foreign dignitaries," he said.

The Home Minister said Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages, while Hindi and other regional languages are sisters.