Kolkata, Oct 3 (IANS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday evening expressed pleasure after Bangla (Bengali) was accorded the status of classical language by the Union government.

“Most happy to share that Bengali/ Bangla has been finally accorded the status of a classical language by the Government of India. We had been trying to snatch this recognition from the Ministry of Culture, GOI and we had submitted three volumes of research findings in favour of our contention. Union government has accepted our well-researched claim today evening and we finally reach the cultural apex in the body of languages in India,” the Chief Minister wrote on X.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has described the development as the Durga Puja gift for Bengali-speaking people by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Union Ministry of Culture in a press release have confirmed that the Union Cabinet under PM Modi's leadership have accorded "Classical Language Status" to Bengali language. It is indeed the best Durga Puja gift for all those who speak Bengali. The inclusion of Bengali language as a Classical Language will promote the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts and would also create significant job opportunities in archiving, translation, publishing, digital media and in academic & research fields," said Adhikari in a statement.

In January, the Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the inclusion of Bangla or Bengali in the list of “Classical Languages” of the country.

Back then, the Chief Minister argued that besides being a national language and the official state language in West Bengal, Bengali is also the second most spoken language nationally and the 7th most spoken language globally.