Vijay’s TVK govt accused of allowing ‘Hindi imposition’ in TN after Hindi words appear on medicine covers in Karur. Coimbatore hospitals | Trichy News
KARUR/COIMBATORE: Hindi words on medicine covers distributed in the Karur Government Medical College Hospital and the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) courted controversy on Tuesday, with DMK leaders hitting out at the TVK govt for allowing “Hindi imposition” and allegedly violating Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy.The covers, which surfaced on Tuesday, bore Tamil, English and Hindi instructions directing patients on when to consume their tablets. Taking to X, DMK IT wing secretary T R B Raaja posted photos of the brown medicine covers distributed in the Karur Govt Medical College and hit out at the TVK govt. “It seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in hospitals too,” he said. Raaja said similar medicine covers with Hindi were also used in the Coimbatore Govt Medical College.“Is the imposition of Hindi — ranging from state highway signage to medicine wrappers — the ‘change’ the chief minister spoke of? Why does Hindi script appear on medicine wrappers in the Karur Govt Medical College Hospital? To appease whom is this govt imposing Hindi so brazenly? Is the health minister — who once claimed that wearing full-sleeved shirts would eradicate dengue — now suggesting that printing Hindi on medicine wrappers will cure diseases?” Pudukottai MLA V Muthuraja asked.Karur Govt Medical College dean M Bharathi Mohan told TOI, “It seems to have been printed last December. It surfaced today and was unknowingly distributed. I have instructed that medicines should no longer be distributed with this cover.”The CMCH administration also stopped the distribution of the trilingual printed covers and issued only bilingual covers.Coimbatore Medical College Hospital resident medical officer B Saravanapriya clarified that the same trilingual printed medicine covers had been issued for over a year. The RMO told TOI, “The same cover has been issued to patients during the previous govt too. It has been there for more than 18 months. These covers are being printed at Chinthamani Cooperative Society with funds from sponsors.”The present controversy comes days after a signboard maintained by the state highways department in Tuticorin district featured Hindi along with other languages, triggering a backlash. Subsequently, the govt erased the Hindi lettering and suspended two officials.
