Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu spoke in 22 Indian languages consecutively in Thursday, February 20, naming each one as he went along, during an event held to mark International Mother Language Day in New Delhi.

He urged citizens to take a pledge to not only promote their own mother tongue, but also to learn other languages as well, reported ANI. “When we protect and promote mother tongues, we also protect and promote cultural and linguistic diversity,” said Naidu.

The vice president went on to suggest that knowledge of an Indian language must be made compulsory for recruitment up to a certain level in government jobs.