Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao names Urdu second official language of the state

Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday announced Urdu as the second official language of the state, said media reports.

#BREAKING | Language war heats up as Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao makes Urdu the second official language of the state pic.twitter.com/MsfBR2pPoG

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Speaking in the state legislative Assembly on Thursday, the chief minister said that it was a long pending demand to make Urdu second official language of Telangana. According to The New Indian Express, Rao told the Assembly that all the competitive examinations in the state will be conducted in Urdu too. The report added the the state government will appoint Urdu officers in all the offices over the next 60 days to receive petitions from public and reply them in Urdu. Rao, according to Telangana Today report, has also announced that 900 Urdu teachers would be recruited soon by forming a special District Selection Committee (DSC). The chief minister, the report added, said that Urdu would be given priority for its protection and promotion. The government has also decided to appoint two Urdu officers in the chief minister’s office and four in the General Administration Department. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), will also raise its proposal to hike reservations to backward sections among Muslims in Parliament and could also approach Supreme Court on the matter, Rao said on Thursday. Speaking on welfare of minorities in the legislative Assembly, Rao said he has taken up the issue of reservation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, he said, responded positively to the request. With inputs from PTI