Bengaluru: "Not knowing Hindi will not make you less Indian", veteran politician and former External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna said as he expressed dismay over what DMK MP Kanimozhi faced at the Chennai airport.
Hindi is another Indian language and nothing more, the BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister said on Tuesday.
"Let's not equate Hindi with nationalism", added the former Maharashtra Governor.
Also read: HDK backs Kanimozhi, tears down on 'Hindi politics'
Kanimozhi had said she was asked whether or not she was an Indian after she told a CISF official at the airport to speak in Tamil or English as she did not understand Hindi.
Krishna said he was dismayed at the way Kanimozhi was treated at the airport.
On Monday, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, expressing anguish over the incident, alleged that political leaders from the South were deprived of opportunities by 'Hindi politics and discrimination'. The former Karnataka Chief Minister accused the ruling class of ignoring the south with 'disdain.'
With inputs from PTI
