“The historic decision has been taken at the initiative of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah to give impetus to participation of local youth in the CAPF and encourage regional languages. In addition to Hindi and English, the question paper will be set in the 13 regional languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani,” the ministry mentioned in a press release on Saturday.

“The decision will result in lakhs of aspirants taking part in the examination in their mother tongue/regional language and improve their selection prospects. The MHA and Staff Selection Commission would sign an addendum to the existing MoU to facilitate the conduct of the examination in multiple Indian languages,” it said.

According to the ministry, “constable (general duty)” is certainly one of flagship examinations performed by the Staff Selection Commission and attracts lakhs of candidates from throughout the nation. The examination will probably be performed from January 1, 2024 onwards in 13 regional languages moreover Hindi and English.

“States/UT governments are expected to launch wide campaign encouraging local youths to use this opportunity of taking the examination in their mother tongue and participate in huge numbers to make a career serving the country. The MHA is fully committed to encourage use and development of regional languages,” the assertion added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Ok Stalin wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that the notification mandating the usage of solely English and Hindi within the Central Reserve Police Force’s pc check was “discriminatory” and “unilateral”.

Leaders from Telangana and Karnataka additionally objected to the coverage of utilizing solely the 2 languages for the nationwide check. Like their counterparts within the Tamil and Telugu-speaking states, the Congress leaders in Karnataka additionally demanded that the exams be held in regional languages too, reigniting the controversy over “Hindi imposition”.

Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to right away enable candidates to take the recruitment examination in Kannada, Karnataka Opposition chief Siddaramaiah mentioned that although Kannada-medium candidates had been good, they had been unable to clear the exams due to the language barrier. “This is injustice towards our youth,” he added.

JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy additionally decried the coverage and alleged that the Union authorities had continued to impose Hindi even after opposition from the southern states. “Exams should be held again for CRPF recruitment and candidates should be allowed to write in all languages including Kannada,” he mentioned.