Modi Can Speak Hindi, But Tomorrow Another PM From Tamil Nadu Might Not, Says Tharoor Questioning Bid To Make Hindi Official In UN

Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor, on Wednesday asked why India should make the effort to make Hindi as one of the languages in the United Nations as it is only India's official language and not the national language.

"If tomorrow someone from Tamil Nadu or from West Bengal becomes the Prime Minister, why should we force him to speak in Hindi at the UN," he said.

Tharoor's statement came during the Question Hour after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj responded to question about steps being taken to make Hindi an official United Nations language.

Swaraj said all member countries should bear the expense to make Hindi an official language.

When a BJP member said that India has to pay Rs 40 crore as the cost for making Hindi one of the languages in the UN, the external affairs minister said the government is ready to pay "even Rs 400 crore if required" but the world body's rules does not allow to do so.

Sushma, however, added that UN rules for acquiring such a status prevents the country from doing so. According to the UN rules, support of two-third member countries (129 nations) is required out of the total 193 member nations, Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha.

Besides, all member nations will have to bear the cost of making Hindi one of the official languages of the UN, Sushma said.

"It is not difficult to get the support of two-third member nations. But when the issue of bearing the expenses comes, many small nations become hesitant which has led to a big hurdle in making Hindi one of the official languages of the UN," she said, adding that despite this, the efforts are on.

When Tharoor said Hindi is official language of only one country - India, Swaraj countered him saying he was unaware that Hindi is the official language of Fiji and is also spoken widely in Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries.