After asking non-Hindi speakers to leave during an online conference, AYUSH Ministry Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha on Saturday, August 23, said that his words were manipulated and taken out of context.
The secretary explained that the conference of AYUSH trainers was ‘gate-crashed by uninvited participants’ constantly ‘nudging’ him to communicate in English.
A video clip that has gone viral on social media, which according to Kotecha is ‘morphed’, is from the conference where he reportedly asked participants who did not understand Hindi to leave as he was not fluent in English.
ஹிந்தி தெரியவில்லை என்றால் கூட்டத்தில் இருந்து விலகுங்கள்: மத்திய ஆயுஷ் அமைச்சகத்தின் அதிகாரிகள் தமிழக நியூரோபதி & யோகா மருத்துவர்களிடம் கூறியுள்ளனர்கடந்த 3நாட்களாக அமைச்சகத்தின் சார்பில் பயிற்சி கூட்டம் நடத்தப்பட்டதில் இவ்வாறு கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது pic.twitter.com/CGtBn15XQS
— Niranjan kumar (@niranjan2428) August 21, 2020
His remarks at the conference, which was on ‘Yoga Training for Master Trainers of States’, were termed ‘insulting’ by some associations of medical practitioners in Tamil Nadu.
In conversation with ThePrint, Kotecha said: ‘There was an official training programme for master trainers for yoga arranged for state officials from all states. I was using both languages — English and Hindi — in my address. I have always used both languages in my interaction at similar platforms, earlier as well.’
‘Meeting was gate-crashed by several uninvited participants who were constantly nudging me to speak in English. I humbly conveyed that I am not fluent in English, but trying to speak in both languages and if they are unable to follow, they can leave,’ Kotecha said.
Kotecha said that the number of invited participants was 350 as per the invite, and all of them should be government officials. However, according to him, 430 people participated in the online conference. ‘It shows that the meeting was gate-crashed,’ Kotecha said.
Also Read: Karnataka: 50 Break Temple Gates To Take Out Chariot Procession, Arrested On Charges Of Rioting
