New Delhi,  Slamming the controversial order directing all nursing staff at a Delhi government health facility to use only Hindi and English for communication, the BJP on Sunday termed it an attempt to snatch the right to speak in Malayalam.

It also questioned silence of Kerala's LDF government on the issue.

Citing the circular at the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER) ordering the nursing staff to only communicate in Hindi or English and specifically disallowing Malayalam, BJP national spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said: "The subsequent withdrawal in a haste clearly indicates we have an anarchist state government for whom the Constitution of India and its recognised language do not matter.

"It is an irony that when this government was in need of oxygen, the request was directed to Kerala and now their attempt to snatch the right to speak in Malayalam amongst each other."

Vadakkan stressed that globally the largest number of nurses come from Kerala, and they have served the country as frontline workers along with doctors and other paramedics.

"They suffered casualties along with doctors and paramedics too. I was also surprised at the deafening silence so far from the Kerala government," he said.

The circular issued on Saturday by the GIPMER nursing superintendent said that a complaint was received against the use of Malayalam.

"A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER, whereas maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless, causing a lot of inconvenience. So, it is directed to all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication, otherwise serious action will be taken," it said.

The hospital administration, however, withdrew the order on Sunday after the controversy broke out.