NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday sought to clear the air over his recent statement regarding Hindi language , saying that he had never spoken of imposing Hindi over regional languages but only suggested that Hindi be learnt as a second language even as regional languages are strengthened.Speaking at an event in Ranchi, Shah said his speech at a Hindi Diwas event had been misconstrued. Stating that he too hailed from Gujarat, where Gujarati and not Hindi, is the primary languague, he said: “People should carefully listen to my speech (delivered on Hindi Diwas). If one wants to do politics, they are free to do so. But I had repeatedly stated (in the speech) that Indian languages should be strengthened. A child can study better and his mental development assured if he takes his lessons in his mother-tongue. By mother-tongue, I did not mean Hindi. Every state has its own language. I only requested that if there is a second language being learnt it should be Hindi. What is wrong in this? I don’t understand."Shah said that someday, a campaign to strengthen local languages will have to be undertaken, “or else we will end up like Australia and Africa”. “When I meet people from Australia or New Zealand, I ask them what is their native language. They can’t meet my eye. We should not reach a point where we lose our local languages. So local languages should be strengthened but Hindi learnt alongside,” he stated.