Updated 10 August 2020 at 08:59 IST
'I've experienced similar taunts': Chidambaram chimes in amid Kanimozhi's language row
Supporting Kanimozhi, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said that the "unpleasant experience" of DMK MP Kanimozhi at Chennai airport is "not unusual"
DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that a CISF official had asked her at the airport whether she was an Indian as she could not speak Hindi. The DMK MP later tweeted that she would like to know "from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi." Supporting Kanimozhi, Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said that the "unpleasant experience" of DMK MP Kanimozhi at Chennai airport is "not unusual".
'I have expressed similar taunts'
In a series of Tweets, the former Union Minister said that he has "experienced similar taunts from government officers and ordinary citizens" who insisted that he speak in Hindi during telephone conversations and sometimes face to face.
Chidambaram questions Central govt
"If the Central government is genuinely committed to both Hindi and English being the official languages of India, it must insist that all central government employees are bilingual in Hindi and English," Chidambaram stated.
"Non-Hindi speaking recruits to central government posts quickly learn functional, spoken Hindi. Why cannot Hindi speaking recruits to central government posts learn functional, spoken English?" he asked.
"The incident occurred at the Chennai airport when I was going through airport security. I could not understand what the CISF officer was saying so I asked her to speak to me in English or Tamil. She responded by asking me how I could call myself an Indian if I could not speak Hindi," Kanimozhi, told ANI.
After she tweeted, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sought details from her soon after. The Dravidian party member of Parliament thanked the CISF for immediate response and assurance to take action. CISF, a Central Armed Police Force is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Meanwhile, in an apparent dig at Kanimozhi, senior BJP leader B L Santhosh on Sunday said "campaign starts" for Tamil Nadu assembly elections. Tamil Nadu Assembly election is slated to be held in the first half of next year.
His tweet was in response to Kanimozhi's tweet in which she said, "Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if 'I am an Indian' when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi." Sunday’s incident took place amid debates on the new National Education Policy (NEP) that encourages learning in the mother tongue or local language for students up to class 5, and preferably till class 8.
Published By : Jay Pandya
Published On: 10 August 2020 at 08:59 IST