Union AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha sparked off a political storm after he allegedly told the participants of a virtual training session to leave if they could not understand Hindi. Kotecha's remarks have led to an outrage in Tamil Nadu with leaders calling it a “blatant imposition of Hindi” on non-Hindi speaking states.
At the national-level training programme conducted for yoga instructors, Kotecha said he could not speak English well and would speak only Hindi. Participants from non-Hindi states, including 37 from Tamil Nadu, had alleged that most of the speakers at the programme spoke in Hindi and it was difficult for them to follow.
MP and DMK leader Kanimozhi demanded the suspension of Kotecha, saying his statements are highly condemnable.
“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 in a tweet.
"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?,” she further asked.
A few days ago, Kanimozhi had accused a CISF official of questioning her ‘Indian-ness’ at the airport when she requested the official to speak in either English or Tamil since she didn’t know Hindi.
DMK chief M.K. Stalin also called for action against Kotecha and urged the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure such incidents do not occur again. Stalin also urged Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami to write a letter to the prime minister asking him to ensure that the link language of English is used in such conferences.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said the “arrogance” of the official is totally unacceptable.
“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,” he said.
Congress MP S. Jothimani has writtern to AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik seeking “appropriate action” against officials responsible for the incident.
"No one should forget that it is Indian government and not Hindian government," said Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan.
Sharing a video clip of the incident, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss asked what would have been the response from participants if a trainer had said he can only speak in Tamil.
Later, talking to an online portal, Kotecha said the AYUSh conference was “gate-crashed” by some “uninvited participants” who were constantly “nudging” him to speak in English.
“While I was trying and speaking in both languages (Hindi and English), these people who gained illegal access, were constantly interrupting me by repeating ‘Only English, Only English’,” he told ThePrint.
He also alleged that the video clip released by some doctors is manipulated.