'Affront To Non-Hindi Speakers': P Chidambaram Flags Names Of New Bills

Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram has opposed the use of Hindi words in the title of Bills introduced in Parliament, calling it an "affront to non-Hindi speaking people". "I am opposed to the increasing practice of the government using Hindi words written in English letters in the title of the Bills to be introduced in Parliament. Hitherto, the practice was to write the title of the Bill in English words in the English version and in Hindi words in the Hindi version of the Bill," Chidambaram said in a post on X.

"When no one pointed out any difficulty in the 75-year practice, why should (the) government make a change? This change is an affront to non-Hindi speaking people and to States that have an official language other than Hindi," he said.

"Non-Hindi speaking people cannot identify a Bill/Act with titles that are in Hindi words written in English letters; nor can they pronounce the title of the Bill/Act. Successive governments have reiterated the promise that English will remain an Associate Official Language. I fear that promise is in danger of being broken," the Congress leader said.

The Congress leader has raised objections as the government brings or prepares to introduce multiple Bills in Parliament with Hindi names. Among them is the Sabka Bima, Sabki Raksha Bill to amend the insurance laws, the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, also called the G Ram G Bill, and the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill.

The Congress has opposed the plan to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme with the G Ram G scheme and questioned if the BJP has a problem with the Father of the Nation. The government argues that the name of G Ram G and other schemes are in sync with its vision for a developed India by 2047.