Minister refuses to comment on Hima's english

The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed uproar after Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore declined to comment on the controversial tweet by the Athletics Federation of India on English speaking skills of Hima Das, who recently became the first Indian to win any world event by clinching the 400 meter gold at the World U-20 Athletics Championship in Finland.

“I have many big responsibilities. I cannot make comment on every comment on social media,” Rathore said in the Lok Sabha. He made the remark after Gourav Gogoi of the Congress asked him why he had kept mum over the Athletics Federation of India’s tweet on English speaking skill of Hima Das.

MPs of the Congress, CPM and other opposition parties rose in protest and criticized Rathore for his remark.

“#HimaDas speaking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018 @iaaforg Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final!” The AFI posted on Twitter after Das’s semifinal win.

The AFI's comment sparked an outrage over Twitter.