Do not impose, oppose any language: VP Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday urged people neither to oppose nor impose any language and pitched for learning as many languages as possible.

Naidu made these observations days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Hindi should be a common language, triggering a political row.

"Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today called upon people to learn as many languages as possible and asserted that there should not be imposition of any language, nor should there be opposition to any particular language," a statement issued by his secretariat said.

Shah had later said he never asked for imposition of Hindi over native languages in the country but advocated its use as the second language.

Interacting with a group of school students here, Naidu also said the stress should be on promoting mother tongue, other languages should also be learnt.

Describing travelling as a form of education and good learning experience, the vice president advised the students to visit all the major tourist places within India to get acquainted with various facets of the country's culture, heritage, languages and cuisine and enhance their understanding of India's unique cultural mosaic.

"Before going out, look within and enhance your knowledge," he told the students.

Stressing the need to allocate 50 per cent of schooling hours outside classrooms to enhance physical fitness, Naidu cautioned the students about the growing incidents of non-communicable diseases due to unhealthy lifestyle practices and food habits.