Chidambaram slams Centre for using Hindi words in titles of Bills: 'Affront to non-Hindi-speaking people'

Congress leader P Chidambaram

Congress leader P Chidambaram criticised the Centre’s practice of using Hindi words in the titles of Bills, calling it an “affront to non-Hindi-speaking people”.

In a post on X, the Congress leader said, “Hitherto, the practice was to write the title of the Bill In English words in the English version and in Hindi words in the Hindi version of the Bill When no one pointed out any difficulty in the 75 year practice, why should government make a change?”

I am opposed to the increasing practice of the government using Hindi words written in English letters in the title of the Bills to be introduced in Parliament

Hitherto, the practice was to write the title of the Bill In English words in the English version and in Hindi words in… — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 15, 2025

According to him, non-Hindi speaking people cannot identify a Bill/Act with titles that are in Hindi words written in English letters; nor can they pronounce the title of the Bill/Act. “Successive governments have reiterated the promise that English will remain an Associate Official Language. I fear that promise is in danger of being broken,” he said.

The Centre on Monday introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill in Parliament that proposes the creation of a single regulator for higher education. It replaced existing bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).

Minister of State of Science & Technology Jitendra Singh on Monday introduced the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Bill, 2025 (SHANTI Bill) in Parliament. It aims to repeal the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 and open India's highly restricted nuclear power sector to the private sector.