India much bigger than Hindi, Hindu, Hindutva: Asaduddin Owaisi

"Hindi isn't every Indian's "mother tongue". Could you try appreciating the diversity & beauty of the many mother tongues that dot this land? Article 29 gives every Indian the right to a distinct language, script & culture. India's much bigger than Hindi, Hindu, Hindutva," Owaisi, a strong critic of the Narendra Modi government, tweeted.

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Shah, who is also the president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said Hindi, which is widely spoken in the country, must be made the language of the country.

The BJP president tweeted, "India is a country of multiple languages and each of them have significance. But there must be one language for the whole nation which will give India an identity at the world stage. It is only widely-spoken Hindi language can bind the whole nation." 

Following Shah's statement, #StopHindiImposition and #StopHindiImperialism have started trending on micro-blogging site Twitter.

(Image Credit: Asaduddin Owaisi Twitter)