Updated
New Delhi, Jun 20 (PTI): Amid strong protests over centre's move to promote Hindi in social media, BJP today sought to douse the row, saying it is not being imposed on non-Hindi- speaking states and that Government respects all Indian languages.
The ruling party said it is not a crime to work in Hindi and sought to defend the government's move to promote the language, saying it seeks to bind the nation together and should not be construed as an "insult" to English.
"It is not a crime to work in Hindi. It is a national language. We have many national languages and every one has the right to work in a national language.
"Hindi is not being imposed on a non-Hindi state. What objection is there if we work in Hindi," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters here.
He said the party and government have said that they will work in Hindi and its use is not being imposed on any non- Hindi speaking state. "Our government respects all Indian languages," he said.
His party colleague and BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "Hindi is the national language and is the heart of the country. Priority to Hindi cannot be (construed as) an insult to English. The government's initiative for according priority to Hindi and regional languages is a welcome step."
On the backfoot over the controversy, the government however, clarified that Hindi on social media is only for Hindi-speaking states and that Hindi is not being imposed on non Hindi-speaking states.
Naqvi said Hindi is a mixture of different regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayali, Gujarati, Bengali, Assameseand Urdu.
It was unfortunate that despite Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal nehru, Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Ram Manohar Lohia's efforts to propagate Hindi to connect the people of different parts of the country, the previous governments have not taken enough steps to promote it, he said. "This time, the government is honestly doing everything to promote Hindi," he said.
"There is no conflict between Hindi and English. If somebody is opposing Hindi, it is not the right thing because they have to understand that Hindi and other regional languages have not got their proper right in the past," Naqvi said.
Congress today advised caution to the government in pushing ahead on the issue, saying this has resulted in a backlash in non-Hindi states especially Tamil Nadu.
Earlier Report
Ensure that English is used on social media: Jaya to Modi
Chennai, Jun 20 (PTI): Terming the Centre's move on use of Hindi as being "against letter and spirit" of the law, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suitably modify the instructions to ensure that English was the language of communication on social media.
The Chief Minister said she had learnt that two office memoranda issued by the Union Home Ministry "direct that official accounts on social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Google and YouTube, which at present use only English, should compulsorily use Hindi, or both Hindi and English, with Hindi being written above or first."
That makes the use of Hindi mandatory and English optional, she said in the letter.
"As you are aware, as per the Official Languages Rules, 1976, communications from a central government office to a state or Union Territory in Region "C" or to any office (not being a central government office) or person in such state shall be in English."
"This provision has been introduced following the introduction of a mandatory proviso in Section 3(1) of the Official Languages Act, 1963, by an amendment in 1968 which states (that), 'English language shall be used for purposes of communication between the Union and a state which has not adopted Hindi as its official language," she pointed out./
Social media by its very nature is not only accessible to all persons on the Internet but is meant to be a means of communication between people across India, including those in "Region C", Jayalalithaa said.
"People located in "Region C", with whom the government of India's communication needs to be in English, will not have access to such public information if it is not in English. This move would therefore be against the letter and spirit of the Official Languages Act, 1963," she said.
Jayalalithaa added it was a "highly-sensitive issue and causes disquiet to the people of Tamil Nadu who are very proud of and passionate about their linguistic heritage".
"Hence, I request you to kindly ensure that instructions are suitably modified to ensure that English is used on social media," she told Modi.
Further, recalling a memorandum she had presented to him on June 3 during her Delhi visit, Jayalalithaa reminded Modi about Tamil Nadu's demand for making Tamil an official language of India.
She recalled she had sought that all languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution be given that status and had said that "if this request is fulfilled, the use of all official languages on social media can be encouraged."
Tamil Nadu had witnessed an anti-Hindi agitation in the late 1960s and DMK chief M Karunanidhi, whose party had spearheaded that movement, has also opposed NDA government's latest proposal, saying it was the beginning of the "imposition of Hindi".