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Kejriwal government faces flak for 'targeting' nurses from Kerala

BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said, "The subsequent withdrawal in haste clearly indicates we have an anarchist state government for whom the Constitution of India and its recognised language do not matter.

Kejriwal government faces flak for targeting nurses from Kerala-VPN
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New Delhi, First Published Jun 6, 2021, 4:01 PM IST

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday slammed the Delhi government over the controversy about a government hospital issuing circular banning nurses from speaking in Malayalam in the workplace.

BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said, "The subsequent withdrawal in haste clearly indicates we have an anarchist state government for whom the Constitution of India and its recognised language do not matter. It is an irony that when this government was in need of oxygen, the request was directed to Kerala and now their attempt to snatch the right to speak in Malayalam amongst each other." 

"Globally, the largest number of nurses come from Kerala. They have served our country as frontline workers along with doctors and other paramedics. They suffered casualties along with doctors and paramedics too," he added.

Another BJP leader, Amit Malviya posted on Twitter, "Shame on Kejriwal for targeting nurses from Kerala. They have been warned not to speak in Malayalam! First, he targeted people from UP and Bihar, now Kerala. The PM on the other hand had received his jab from a Kerala nurse giving a strong message of unity."

Other parties too criticised the Delhi government over the circular.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination!"

Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said, "No language can be banned from usage anywhere in India as long as the people conversing understand it." 

The circular issued by Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research asking nursing staff not to converse in Malayalam was withdrawn after outrage.

The order directed nurses to use only Hindi and English for communication and warned them of action if the circular was disobeyed.

The institute's Medical Director Dr Anil Agarwal clarified that the order had not come either from the Delhi government or the hospital's administration. 

Claiming that the circular was an internal communication within the nursing staff, he said that those who are responsible will be pulled up.

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