English is “empowering” not “shameful” and must be taught to every child, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday and alleged that the BJP-RSS don’t want poor children to learn this language because they don’t want them to ask questions and attain equality. Gandhi’s comments came a day after Home Minister Amit Shah’s reported remarks on English.

Stressing the importance of Indian languages as the soul of the nation’s identity, Shah said on Thursday that the time has come to reclaim India’s linguistic heritage. “In this country, those who speak English will soon feel ashamed; the creation of such a society is not far away,” Shah had said. 

Slamming his remarks, Gandhi, in a post in Hindi on X, said, “English is not a dam, it is a bridge. English is not shameful, it is empowering. English is not a chain — it is a tool to break the chains.”