Musk backs British MP who calls out Bengali signboard at London station
The Tower Hamlets Council funded the dual-language signage throughout Whitechapel Station; the area is said to have a huge Bangladeshi community
Billionaire Elon Musk has come out in support of a British MP who criticised a Bengali signboard at a prominent London railway station, triggering a rash of social media posts in support and against his comments.
Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, shared an image of the bilingual signboard at Whitechapel Station on his official X account.
"This is London - the station name should be in English, and English only," said the Reform UK MP for the area on Sunday (February 9).
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MP backed by Musk, other users
Musk, who has sought to influence British politics, supported Lowe with a simple “Yes”.
While some social media users backed Lowe, others defended the multilingual signs.
One user said: “Couldn't agree more Rupert, it's time to stand up for our national identity and language. We shouldn't be pandering to every other culture at the expense of our own, it's just common sense… Keep speaking out against this woke nonsense.”
Varying views
Some users on the microblogging site, however, stressed the need for bilingual signage.
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Another X user countered: “While I appreciate the sentiment, imagine visiting Tokyo or Shanghai and not a single sign was written in English?”
The Tower Hamlets Council funded the dual-language signboards throughout Whitechapel Station as part of broader development efforts. The area in London is said to have a huge Bangladeshi community, thus the Bengali signage.
Mamata hails Bengali signage
In India, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee hailed the initiative.
“Proud to note that the London Tube Rail has accepted Bengali as a language of signage at Whitechapel Station, signifying the increasing global importance and strength of the 1,000-year-old language,” she wrote on X.
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"It is a victory of our culture and heritage," Banerjee said.
The Southhall station has signages both in English and Punjabi on account of the massive Punjabi-speaking population residing in the area.