In what could be seen as an attempt to enable the Bharatiya Janata Party to expand its support base among the Muslims, the Uttar Pradesh government made it mandatory to display the names of government hospitals, health centres and the designations of the health officials in Urdu as well.
A letter issuing the directives was sent to all chief medical officers (CMOs) in the state on Thursday.
The letter, issued by the joint director of health, said that a notification was issued in 1989, instating Urdu as a second language in the state.
Now, with the latest decision, the names of all 167 district hospitals, 873 community health centres and over 2,900 primary health centres would also be displayed in Urdu. The designations of the officials deployed at these places would also be shown in Urdu.
The decision assumed significance as it comes ahead of the next general elections due in 2024—before which the saffron party planned to expand its support base among the Muslims, especially the ‘Pasmanda’ (the poorer sections of the community) Muslims.
In March, during the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, about 7-8% of Muslims were said to have voted for the saffron party that won an unprecedented second term to govern in India’s biggest state.
At the BJP’s national executive meeting in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly asked all party leaders to reach out to backward classes among non-Hindus. Muslim leaders of the BJP were tasked with reaching out to their community members.
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