Chandigarh, Nov 12 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday said Punjabi has been made a compulsory subject in all schools in the state and they may be fined up to Rs lakh for not following it.

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Channi made this announcement a day after the Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages (Amendment) Bill, 2021, aimed at strictly enforcing the implementation of Punjabi as a compulsory subject for all students from classes 1 to 10 in the state.

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“To promote mother tongue, Punjabi has been made a compulsory subject for all students from class I to X in Punjab. Schools to be fined up to 2 lakh for violation,” Channi said in a tweet.

“Now, #Punjabi is mandatory in offices. Also, Punjabi will be written on top of all the boards in the state,” he added.

The penalty for violating the provisions of the law has been increased from Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50,000, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively.

Notably, the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act, 2008 was enacted by the state government with the objective to provide for learning of Punjabi as a compulsory subject by all students studying in classes 1 to 10.

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha had also passed the Punjab Official Language (Amendment) Bill, 2021, whereby an official now can be fined up to Rs 5,000 for not conducting official business in the Punjabi language.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)