The circular drew sharp criticism from other Congress leaders as well. (File)
After a Delhi government hospital issued a circular asking nurses not to speak in Malayalam while on duty, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the move and urged authorities to stop discrimination among Indian languages. Following protests, the hospital withdrew the order.
Sharing a piece of information about the circular by Delhi govt-run Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER) on Twitter, Mr Gandhi wrote, "Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination!"
This row erupted after GIPMER on Saturday forbade its nursing personnel from communicating in Malayalam.
However, the circular barring nursing staff at GIPMER has been withdrawn, the hospital said on Sunday.
The June 5 dated circular issued by the Nursing Superintendent of GIPMER had stated that "A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience. So it is directed to all Nursing Personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication otherwise serious action will be taken."
The circular drew sharp criticism from other Congress leaders as well.
Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor also tweeted, stating, "It boggles the mind that in democratic India a government institution can tell its nurses not to speak in their mother tongue to others who understand them. This is unacceptable, crude, offensive, and a violation of the basic human rights of Indian citizens. A reprimand is overdue!"
Congress MP KC Venugopal wrote to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and GIPMER seeking his intervention in the matter and to take immediate disciplinary action against those who issued such a "highly discriminatory circular and denying the basic fundamental rights guaranteed by our constitution."