Actor Kichcha Sudeep has opened up about his verbal spat with actor Ajay Devgn on Twitter over the status of Hindi as ‘national language’, saying his intention was not to spark a debate. He revisited the incident while praising PM Narendra Modi for calling Indian languages the soul of ‘Bharatiyata’.

Last month, Sudeep’s exchange with Devgn over his remarks that Hindi is “no more our national language” snowballed into a larger debate on social media. “I didn’t mean to start any riot or any kind of debate. It just so happened, without an agenda. It was an opinion I voiced. It was an honour and a privilege to see the certain lines come out of the Prime Minister’s mouth,” he told NDTV in an interview.

He further clarified, “I was not trying to take on anyone. I have the right to say what my opinions are when it comes to certain topics.”

“Everybody looks upon their language with regard and respect, it’s an overwhelming thing to see him speak this way,” Sudeep added.

Recently, Modi asserted that his party sees a reflection of Indian culture in every language, which gave the Kotigobba 3 (2021) actor more reasons to feel happy.

“I am not just representing only Kannada, I’m talking about... everybody’s mother tongue has been respected today with those few statements from the Prime Minister and that is where I was coming from that day (sic),” he said.