K Ponmudy issues clarification after criticism over his 'pani puri sellers' remark

|HT|

Tamil Nadu higher education minister K Ponmudy on Friday issued a clarification after heavy criticism over an earlier statement claiming 'Hindi-speaking people sell pani puri' in the southern state. The minister said he meant 'people from the north come to the southern states to work because there is no work in the northern states'. "Various people from Tamil Nadu go and work in the northern states. I said the statement in this sense - that various people from the north come here and work because there is no work available in northern states," Ponmudy said.

The minister's comment came amid controversy over some states' perception that Hindi is being imposed on them; the issue has always been a sensitive topic, particularly in the southern states.

Addressing the 37th convocation at state-run Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, the DMK minister had said his government was determined to follow the dual-language policy - English and Tamil.

"While English is an international language, Tamil is a local language. We were told learning Hindi could land us jobs. Is that so? You go and see it in our state… Who are those people who sell pani puris?" he asked.

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