KEONJHAR: Tuesday was a historic day in the lives of lakhs of Oriyas living in Jharkhand. The Jharkhand cabinet approved Oriya and five other regional languages of Jharkhand as the second official language. "It is the happiest moment for me and thousands of people speaking Oriya and other regional languages in Jharkhand. Many times in the past we had put forth the demand for the second official language," Manoharpur MLA Gurucharan Naik told TOI over phone.
On Monday, hundreds of Oriya-speaking people and supporters led by Utkal Sammilani staged a demonstration in front of the Jharkhand assembly demanding declaration of Oriya as second official language. They had also given memoranda to the Speaker of Jharkhand assembly C P Singh, chief minister Arjun Munda and deputy chief minister Hemant Soren. Naik had put forth the demand in front of the cabinet.