Bhubaneswar, April 2: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has called for the Kosali language, spoken by 1.5 crore people across eleven districts in Odisha, to be officially recognized as a state language.
During Zero Hour in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday, Prasanna Kumar Acharya, the BJD Deputy Leader, urged the state government to grant Kosali the status of a state language and to push for its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Acharya highlighted that Kosali has a rich literary tradition, with numerous stories and poems, and is spoken by people in the eleven districts of Western Odisha.
The Deputy Leader, who is from Western Odisha, warned that the state government could face public backlash from these districts if the demand for recognizing Kosali as a state language continues to be ignored. He stressed that Kosali meets all the necessary criteria for official language status but has still been overlooked.
Acharya also called on the state government to recommend Kosali’s inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, citing the inclusion of other languages.
