DMK's Kanimozhi says CISF official asked if she was Indian; force orders probe

Chennai/New Delhi: DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that a CISF official asked her if "she was an Indian" as she could not speak Hindi, following which the airport guarding force ordered an inquiry.

The incident is understood to have taken place when Kanimozhi was at the Chennai international airport to take a flight to Delhi.

"Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if "I am an Indian" when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi," Kanimozhi said on her official Twitter account.

"I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi," she tweeted with the hashtag "hindiimposition".

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) issued two tweets and said it has "ordered an enquiry into the matter."

"Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter," the CISF tweeted

"It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language," it tweeted.

Kanimozhi is the member of Parliament from Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu.

The CISF is the national civil aviation security force and it provides counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage cover to 64 such facilities in the country at present.