NEW DELHI: The controversial order issued by the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER) on Saturday asking its nursing staff not to converse in Malayalam has been withdrawn.
"The circular which was issued by the O/o Nursing Superintendent, GB Pant Hospital without any instructions or knowledge of the Hospital Administration and Delhi Government stands withdrawn, with immediate effect,'" said the new order issued by the Medical Superintendent on Sunday.
"That was a blunder by the Nursing superintendent, will initiate action," the Medical Director of GB Pant Hospital Dr Anil Aggarwal had said.
On Saturday, the Nursing Superintendent of the GIPMER had issued an order which banned nursing staff from speaking in Malayalam in the hospital and warned of ‘serious action’ if they do not talk in English or Hindi. It said speaking Malayalam caused a lot of inconvenience as "maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language."
“A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patient and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience. So it is directed all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication. Otherwise serious action will be taken,” reads an order issued by the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in Delhi on Saturday.
Reacting to this order, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took Twitter and said: "Malayalam is as Indian as any other Indian language. Stop language discrimination!
"It boggles the mind that in democratic India a government institution can tell its nurses not to speak in their mother tongue to others who understand them. This is unacceptable, crude,offensive and a violation of the basic human rights of Indian citizens. A reprimand is overdue!," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had also tweeted.