Thiruvananthapuram: BJP volunteers are burning midnight oil learning Hindi and polishing their English conversation skills to overcome language barriers during the party's three-day National Council and Executive meetings from September 23 at Kozhikode in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is participating.
About 549 volunteers from across Kerala and neighbouring states have been trained to speak basic Hindi and English words which normally crop up during conversations to help the 3000-odd delegates coming from various parts of the country for the meeting.
At least 60 words and sentences have been given to the volunteers to memorise and make use of during the high-level meeting in which union ministers, chief ministers of BJ-ruled states, MPs, party's national leaders are likely to participate.
The volunteers have been deployed to 33 departments, including those looking after accommodation, food, transport and reception arrangements, Shajumon Vattaekkad, BJP state committee member and volunteer department head told PTI from Kozhikode.
Ninety per cent of the delegates are from Hindi heartland and it was necessary to have volunteers trained in Hindi, he said.
'Aap ney Chay Peeya?' (Did you have tea?), 'Aap ko kab room mein jana hai?' (When do you want to go to the room), 'Aap ko kab gadi chahiyae?' (when do you need the vehicle?) are some of the Hindi sentences which have been listed and given to volunteers to memorise and perfect.
Volunteers in age group of 18-70 years from Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and even from Saudi Arabia and Dubai who have leaning to the party, have been included, he said.
At Thrissur, two batches of 70 volunteers have been provided intensive training for three months, he added.