New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko once again reignited the controversy around Hindi imposition on Monday (July 15) and objected to the use of the language in Parliament.

Speaking to media, Vaiko said, "Let them (BJP MPs) speak in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Why do they have to speak in Hindi in the Parliament? From Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh, all used to deliver their address only in English. Only the present Prime Minister is a Hindi fanatic. English should be used in the Parliament."

Vaiko further went on to say that the standard of debates has dropped to a new low because of the language Hindi, and claimed that all the MPs are seen "shouting" in Hindi in the Parliament.

Speaking to MyNation, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson A Saravanan, agreed to Vaiko's claims and said, "DMK wholeheartedly accepts Vaiko's claims. What he says is right. Does the BJP think that all the MPs coming to the party know Hindi? In fact Vaiko also pointed out many things such as BJP's agenda, which is to have Hindi on Hindu Rashtra, which is proven right by the way BJP plays, supports and handles Hindi majoritarianism."

Saravanan further claimed that several government exams were conducted in the Hindi language, making it difficult for people to clear them. 

MyNation also spoke to C Ponniyan, one of the founding members of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), who said he found nothing new in Vaiko's claims as "AIADMK were one of the pioneers in fighting imposition of Hindi in the Parliament".

"We cannot tell MPs from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh not to debate in Hindi. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the state MPs would only speak in Tamil," Ponniyan said.

BJP national spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay expressed his displeasure, while speaking to MyNation, and said, "Vaiko is just trying to mislead people. In 1917, Gandhi ji in Gujarat addressed a gathering and said that Hindi is a connecting language in India. I think Vaiko does not have the respect for Gandhi ji any more. If the former Prime Ministers spoke in English, it is fine. We do not want to stop anyone from speaking Hindi. If the MPs are not fluent in Hindi, let them speak in English."

However, the BJP national spokesperson claimed that their party did not promote anyone to speak in Hindi. In fact, several people from Tamil Nadu have a keen interest to learn Hindi, he said.