Tharoor-Swaraj's war of words in LS over making Hindi official UN language

Tharoor questioned the need to push it while the Minister called his remark “ignorant”.

 

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor traded barbs in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday over making Hindi an official language at the United Nations.

Tharoor questioned the need to push it while the Minister called his remark “ignorant”.

Sushma Swaraj, in her reply to a question, said: “It is often asked why Hindi is not an official language in the UN. Today, I will want to tell the House, the biggest problem is the procedure.”

The Minister explained that as per the procedure, two-thirds of the 193 members of the organisation — which comes to 129 — will have to vote in favour of making Hindi an official language and also share the financial expenditure that would be incurred in the process.

“The problem comes when apart from voting, the burden of the amount also falls on them. Economically weaker countries that support us shy away from this. We are working on it, we are making attempts to get support of countries like Fiji, Mauritius, Surinam… where people of Indian origin are there.

“When we get that kind of support and they are also ready to bear the financial burden, it will become an official language,” she said.

When a member pointed out that making Hindi an official language will require an expenditure of Rs 40 crore every year, Sushma Swaraj said: “Not just Rs 40 crore, the government is ready to spend Rs 400 crore on it.”

She, however, added that spending money would not serve the purpose.

Sushma Swaraj also highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and she had spoken at the UN in Hindi.

“Even when we have (foreign) guests, if they speak in English, we speak in English. If they speak in their own language, we speak in Hindi. As far as glory of the language is concerned, the External Affairs Ministry never had so much work done in Hindi as now,” she said.

Tharoor, who worked in the UN and announced his retirement after finishing second in the 2006 election for UN Secretary-General, questioned the need to push for Hindi, which he pointed out was not even the national language of India.

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Sushma Swaraj's fiery response to Pakistan: Top 10 quotes

Targeting Pakistan squarely, India on Monday told the United Nations that Jammu and Kashmir is an inalienable part of the country and nobody can wrest it away by force.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in a retort to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech last week where he harped on Kashmir, said at the UNGA: "Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will remain an integral part of India. No one can take it away by force. Pakistan should stop dreaming."

Top quotes by Sushma Swaraj at UNGA-

• Giving a befitting reply to Pak, Sushma Swaraj said Those who seed extremist ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. This germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster. 

• Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others

• Nurturing terrorism has become habit of some nations.

• Need to isolate nations that fail to crackdown on terrorsim, work together for world peace 

• Tried to resolve friendship with Pakistan via friendship not demands

• Dhaka, Uri, Paris, Pathankot attacks have left us with scars 

• Bahadur Ali living proof that terrorists come from across the border

• Terrorism is biggest violation of human rights 

The external affairs minister in her speech also spoke on Paris Agreement, poverty and Make in India

• On Oct 2, India will submit instrument of ratification for Paris Agreement 

• Our biggest challenge today is to end poverty

• Seeing a lot of foreign inflows due to Make in India scheme

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Watch full video of Sushma Swaraj speech at UNGA  &  Read full Story

Kashmir is ours, you'll never get it, Sushma Swaraj tells Pakistan at UNGA

In a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's "tirade" on Kashmir, India today said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect as it censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the "worst form of state oppression" in Balochistan.

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her address at the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session said there are nations "in our midst" where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver "their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity", an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become "their calling card".

"In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account," Swaraj asserted in her nearly 20-minute speech.

"These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations," Swaraj said, in essence making a call to the international community to read full story

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Sushma Swaraj's fiery response to Pakistan: Top 10 quotes

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Post-Uri attack, Salman Khurshid hopes Modi Govt.will go beyond words

Kashmiri activist Sushil Pandit has urged that India must not observe restraint and seek retribution against Pakistan for Sunday's terror strike in Uri.

Pandit said, "This attack merits a very serious retaliation from the government. India must no longer observe the restraint that it has shown over the past so many decades. Pakistan does not merit Indian restraint anymore.

This toll is likely to go higher because there are several injured soldiers in critical condition. The coffins have begun to reach their families. This nation wants retribution."

India is to present all actionable evidence against Pakistan if required at international bodies.

Sources state that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will strongly emphasise on Pakistan's involvement in the attack in her UNGA speech on September 26.

Pakistan has, however, flatly refused New Delhi's claims of Islamabad's involvement in the Uri terror attack, stating that it has become India's traditional tendency to point fingers on them after each read full story

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