VP Jha's Hindi stand

The Supreme Court recently read out its verdict nullifying the oath of office taken by the Vice President Parmananda Jha in Hindi. This has created a row in the political circle. But here are snippets of what people in general have to say:

BIMALA SHERPA (housewife): I don’t support the action of the Vice President taking his oath in Hindi when he knows how to speak in Nepali very well.[break]

Janaki Karmacharya (civil servant): Wasn’t Jha himself a Judge at the Supreme Court before? It’s very unprofessional on his part to say that the Supreme Court’s verdict against his oath-taking in Hindi was against the law. Who will follow the rules and regulations if a person in such a respectable position like him differs and disobeys the decision of the judiciary panel of the Court?

As a former judge himself, he should have knowledge of the whole judiciary processes. It’s a matter of national shame for all of us. In addition, how can he even think of proposing Hindi as an official language of Nepal? We aren’t going to tolerate that. Fine, we can understand that he may have had difficulties taking oath in Nepali because he’s comfortable only in his mother language. If so, he could’ve taken the oath in Maithili – his mother language. Hindi is not at all a native language of any Nepali. In fact, the whole idea of promoting ethnic languages inside the Cabinet is weird in itself. How would it be if all the CA members started to speak in the Tharu, Maithili, Newari, Bhojpuri, Limbu and Tamang languages? The Parliament will then need dozens more officials to interpret what they speak in to the press and to the Speaker of the Parliament. The Vice President has to bow before the Court’s verdict and he has to retake the ceremony in Nepali. If he does not, he has no rights to remain in that prestigious chair.

KUMAR BASNET (shopkeeper): A prominent person such as Vice President Parmananda Jha should consider the sentiments of the citizens before doing such a thing. Taking oath in Hindi is like supporting India rather than your own country. It’s no time to pull stunts and be a center of attraction but a time to contribute at least something to unite the peoples from the hills to the Tarai. But I read in a newspaper today that if Nepalis wish him to take oath in the Nepali language, he is ready to do so, which is good for the country.

MONILAL THARU (barbar): As the law doesn’t clarify the language while taking oath, it wasn’t wrong of Paramananda Jha to take his oath in the Hindi language. Either it should’ve been specific on the language, or there shouldn’t have been any fuss about it. As Hindi is the language he uses as do all other people of Terai, it wasn’t wrong of him to do so. Everyone else took the oath in their mother tongue, didn’t they?

OM PRAKASH MISHRA (shopkeeper): It isn’t wrong of Paramananda Jha to use Hindi elsewhere, but as it’s a national issue in taking oath as Vice President of the country, he should’ve used his commonsense to use the national language. After all, the Nepali language isn’t about hills or Terai; it’s about our country, Nepal.