New Delhi, Jun 25 (IANS): The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Tuesday sought the withdrawal of a UGC circular which it said seeks to push Hindi as a compulsory subject in all undergraduate courses across the country.

A CPI-M statement said it was "deeply concerned at the effort by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

"This is strange in the background of the widespread protest in the country against the imposition of Hindi as part of the draft National Education Policy, 2019 which forced the government to beat a hasty retreat.

"The central government issued a clarification to settle the controversy for now. Therefore, the UGC cannot push this agenda independently," the CPI-M said.

"India is a country of great diversity in language and culture. This attempt, without a proper process by a statutory body, to impose one particular national language, is only going to stir the hornet's nest among other linguistic groups.

"The unity of our people based on the rich diversity in language and culture will only be disrupted by such efforts."

The CPI-M urged everyone to mobilize public opinion and force the government to ensure that the UGC withdraws the circular.