DMK MP Abdulla replies in Tamil to Union Minister's letter in Hindi
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Chennai: DMK MP from Pudukottai, M M Abdulla, sent a letter to Union minister of state for railways, Ravneet Singh in Tamil responding to the minister’s letter in Hindi, amid the continuing tug of war between the Centre and the state government over expansion of Hindi.
Singh’s letter in Hindi to Abdulla came after DMK MP raised in the parliament the issue of food quality and cleanliness in trains.
Abdulla, who shared both copies of the letter, said that letters in Hindi from the minister’s office still came to him despite frequently reminding the officials that the MP could not follow Hindi.
‘This is not the first time I am receiving letters from the Railway Ministry in Hindi. I raised issues such as demanding stoppage in Pudukottai and the construction of overbridges, for which I received replies only in Hindi. Whenever I received the letters, I used to call their office and ask them to send letters in English,’ The Times of India quoted him as saying.
It is reported that Tamil Nadu as per the Official Language Rules of 1976 belongs to Category C requiring the Centre to communicate with the state only in English.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's call for making Hindi as an alternative to English, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin earlier said doing so could wreck the nation's integrity.