Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 16: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday criticised the Union government’s “increasing practice” of using Hindi words, written in English script, in the titles of Bills introduced in Parliament, calling it an “affront” to non-Hindi-speaking citizens and states.

In a post on X, the former Union minister said such titles make it difficult for non-Hindi speakers to identify, understand, or even pronounce the names of Bills and Acts. He noted that for nearly 75 years, parliamentary practice had followed using English titles in the English version of Bills and Hindi titles in the Hindi version, without causing any difficulty.

“When no one found fault with this long-standing practice, why change it now?” Chidambaram asked. He argued that the shift undermines linguistic diversity and disregards states whose official languages are not Hindi.

The Congress MP also warned that the government’s move could threaten the long-standing assurance that English would continue as an Associate Official Language. “Successive governments have reiterated this promise. I fear it is now in danger of being broken,” he added.