LUCKNOW: BJP senior leader and former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma flayed Tamil Nadu minister on Sunday for frisking ex-deputy CM of Hindu-spUP flays him minister of Tamil Nadu for linking Hindi speaking people to ‘pani-puri’ vendors luring people and connecting them with ‘pani-puri’ vendors in Coimbatore.
Sharma attacked Tamil Nadu’s Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, calling his Friday statement mocking Hindi-speaking people “his (TN Minister’s) narrow mindset” and “lack of knowledge”.
In his address to the 37th convocation of Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, Ponmudy on Friday affirmed that the state government would pursue the bilingual formula as a policy and denounced any alleged attempt to impose Hindi.
Questioning claims that learning Hindi will fetch jobs, Ponmudy had asked who was currently selling ‘pani puri’ in the city (Coimbatore), an obvious reference to the predominantly Hindi vendors involved in the trade.
“Many said you will get jobs if you learn Hindi. Is that true? Look here in Coimbatore which sells pani puri. These are them (Hindi speaking people),” Ponmudy had claimed in s addressing the university convening function.
In a statement published here on Sunday, Sharma said, “Languages cannot be divided by borders or confined within borders. Language needs no advocacy.”
“The usefulness of a language can only be understood by a person who understands the importance of language. A person who knows more languages, his voice is more effective,” he added.
Sharpening his attack, Sharma said: “Opposing Hindi may give short-term political benefits, but it will not help to realize the concept of ‘sarve bhavantu sukhinaah’ (let’s all be happy) and ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam “(the world is one family).”
To blunt Tamil Nadu’s stance against Hindi, Sharma cited the example of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and attributed his understanding of the people’s issue to his knowledge of many languages.
“Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao knew nine Indian languages and seven foreign languages. And that was the reason why he was able to emotionally connect with the local residents of the place he used to visit” , did he declare.
“The Tamil Nadu minister’s statement not only insulted the majority of Hindi speakers, but also insulted the language, which is called ‘bindi’ in India,” Sharma said.
The BJP leader also accused the Tamil Nadu minister of having a ‘narrow mindset’.
“The statement of the Minister of Tamil Nadu shows his narrow mindset and that shows a lack of knowledge. A person should not be judged on his profession but on his qualities,” Sharma added.
The former UP CM MP also advised Ponmudy to study Hindi, saying only then can he understand his specialty and experience happiness and establish harmony between Hindi and Tamil.
Addressing the convening function at Bharathiar University, chaired by State Governor (Tamil Nadu) RN Ravi, who is also the chancellor of the university, Ponmudy had reiterated the position of the ruling DMK against “the imposition’ from Hindi.
Governor Ravi had sought to dismiss the complaint, saying “there is no question of forcing Hindi or any other language on anyone”.
In his address, Ponmudy had said that he used the platform to highlight Tamil Nadu’s feelings on the language issue as the governor would convey them to the Centre.
He also recalled that English and Tamil had been in vogue in Tamil Nadu for a long time and would be the same as long as students were not against learning other languages including Hindi.
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