Shashi Tharoor and Swaraj spar over Hindi as official language at UN

Even as the government on Wednesday said it was ready to boost its efforts and set aside allocations for making Hindi one of the official languages of the United Nations, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned the reason for it as Hindi was not the national language of the country. Replying to questions in Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, revealed that the UN rule of needing support of at least two-third (129 countries) members necessary to accord any language an official status, is proving to be a dampener. She added that the government was ready to set aside Rs 400 crore for the purpose. "It is not difficult to get the support, but when the issue of bearing the expenses comes, many small nations become hesitant," she said.

Meanwhile, Tharoor noted, "If 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 also said that while Arabic is spoken in 22 countries, Hindi is only used as official language by one country-India.

Swaraj then countered Tharoor that Hindi is the official language of Fiji and is also widely spoken in Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries.