Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav on Wednesday suggested avoiding "language chauvinism" at a time when developmental challenges confront us.

Madhav, president of the India Foundation, noted there is a need to respect every local language but stressed on avoiding violence or encouraging it on the emotive issue.

"We should not veer towards language chauvinism because there are far better challenges like development which confront us,” Madhav said at the largest equity bourse NSE in Mumbai, which hosted a discussion on his recent book “The New World”.

In the comments, which come amid a heated debate on three-language policy triggered after the Maharashtra government attempted to introduce Hindi as a third language in primary schools, Madhav said people should respect the local language of every state.

At the same time, one must not oppose any language as well, he stressed, adding if Hindi or English are being used as “link languages”, no one should oppose that either.

Maharashtra, an industrial and financial powerhouse, has to take the Indian economy ahead, Madhav observed, asking all to show “restraint” in such emotional matters.

“If you live in Maharashtra, Marathi has to be respected and efforts have to be made to learn the language,” he said.

"...there should not be any violence in any way, and it should not be encouraged," the BJP leader made it clear.

Meanwhile, when asked about former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s assertion to be conferred with the ‘Nobel for governance’, Madhav said the right institutions have to decide on such wishes.

“Who are we to comment if someone has decided to anoint himself as the God?" the BJP leader asked.

Replying to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s jibes at the BJP and the Election Commission on the Bihar polls and the ongoing electoral roll reviews in that state, Madhav said there is a need for the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha to desist from blaming the saffron party and the EC for every loss.

Gandhi should rather concentrate on building his party, Madhav said, questioning how the Congress does not question the EC’s role when it wins elections.

The Indian private sector will have to take the lead in frontier technologies like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing, and also help on the research and development front, Madhav insisted.

Technological capabilities will play a huge role in deciding the winners of tomorrow, unlike the past where financial resources at disposal could influence a country’s fate, he averred.

"If we are not able to develop the required capabilities, we expose ourselves to vulnerabilities like tariffs and embargoes," Madhav noted.

The US is trying to impose certain tariffs on Indian goods, and the Commerce Ministry is negotiating, Madhav said, adding he expects an agreement on trade with the world's largest economy “very soon”.

‘Vishwaguru’ (teacher of the world) should not be a tag which we attach ourselves, but we should earn it when other companies look at India with high regard," Madhav said.

India has to become strong and united socially, be a USD 10 trillion GDP economy, and a secure country both from internal and external security lens to earn that tag, he said. PTI AA RSY