Leading politicians in Tamilnadu deplored the attitude and behavior of the AYUSH secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha asking those who do not know Hindi leave the virtual training of master trainers organised by the Union ministry of AYUSH.
Out of 400 participants from across the country, 37 were from Tamil Nadu. Kotecha made the comments on Thursday
“We requested the trainers to speak in English as we don’t understand Hindi. He was in fact subjecting the Tamil-speaking participants to such humiliation,” a master trainer who attended the meeting told Maktoob.
He said delegates from non-Hindi speaking states tried to share their concerns with authorities over loss of communication at the conference, but did not receive any response.
Participants from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala also demanded the same.
DMK leader and Lok Sabha member Kanimozhi demanded the suspension of AYUSH secretary.
In a tweet, Kanimozhi said: “The statement of Secretary of the Union Ministry of AYUSH Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha that non-Hindi speaking participants could leave during a Ministry’s training session speaks volumes about the Hindi domination being imposed. This is highly condemnable.”
She said: “Govt should place the Secretary under suspension and initiate appropriate disciplinary proceedings. How long is this attitude of excluding non-Hindi speakers to be tolerated?”
In a tweet in Tamil, DMK chief MK Stalin also called for action against the secretary, urging the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.
Stalin, the Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, said Kotecha has also threatened the delegates of the training session from the state.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said, “Not knowing English is understandable, but this arrogance of asking those who don’t know Hindi to leave and insisting on speaking in Hindi is totally unacceptable.”
“The official has no right to insult representatives of the non-Hindi speaking states when the country has been following even today three language formula. Those who are in the high echelons of the Executive and powers should know that India is a country of wide diversity, languages and cultures. Those diversities must be kept in mind to safeguard the integrity of the country. Hindi and Hindutva are not India,” the National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India said.
