Former party colleagues Jyotiraditya Scindia and Shashi Tharoor found themselves on either side of the ‘Hindi fence’ on Thursday i.e, on 3rd February, with the Union Minister responding to an English question in Hindi and the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram terming it as an insult.
While responding to supplementary questions asked by members from Tamil Nadu in English, the civil aviation minister replied in Hindi.
As soon as, Tharoor commented it as an “apmaan” that the minister was responding in Hindi.
Tharoor said , when the Minister speaks English and He must reply in English.
“Zara jawab Hindi mein mat dijiye…ye apman hai logon ka (Please don’t give replies in Hindi…it is an insult to people),” Tharoor said during the Question Hour.
Scindia said it was strange for the member to make such a comment.
“Mein Hindi bole to eithraaz ho raha hai” (If I speak in Hindi, the member has objection), he said, adding to that, he said there was also a translator in the House.
Immediately after Tharoor made the remarks, Speaker Om Birla said, “Ye apman nahi hain (this is not an insult).