Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Saturday that the apprehensions raised regarding the Malayalam Language Bill, 2025, do not reflect facts or the inclusive spirit of the legislation passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Referring to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah’s statement that the Bill is “an attack on the freedom of language guaranteed by the Constitution”, Vijayan said the proposed law has provisions to safeguard the rights of linguistic minorities, particularly Kannada- and Tamil-speaking communities. The Kerala Assembly last October passed the Bill, which stipulates Malayalam as the official language of the state and envisages its use in government services, the judiciary, among other areas. It also calls for establishing a Malayalam language development authority and says Malayalam will be compulsory as the first language in all Kerala syllabus schools. All products sold or manufactured in Kerala should also carry labels in Malayalam. As the Bill is pending with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the Karnataka Border Areas Development Authority (KBADA) has urged him to reconsider the legislation. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also joined the issue, …