Hindi on government medicine packets sparks row in Tamil Nadu; DMK, TVK trade barbs

The opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday criticised the state government over the use of Hindi besides Tamil and English on packets of prescribed medicines at two state-run hospitals, asking the TVK administration if the three-language formula was being implemented in the state.

Doctors at government hospitals in Coimbatore and Karur issued medicine packets, carrying details of medicine use written in Tamil, English and Hindi, sparking the row.

Former industries minister and senior DMK leader TRB Rajaa criticised the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government over the incident on Wednesday. “It seems like the three-language policy is being implemented in Tamil Nadu hospitals. Earlier it was in Karur government hospital. Today, this is in Coimbatore (government hospital),” Rajaa said.

Health and family welfare minister KG Arunraj said that a similar packaging was approved during the previous DMK regime. “It has become necessary to clarify the stark reality of this issue to the people of Tamil Nadu and to DMK members who are eager to completely conceal the truth and systematically create false confusion among the public,” Arunraj said.

At the Karur Government Medical College Hospital, pill covers issued to patients are generally sourced from the Central Prison, with instructions like ‘Morning / Afternoon / Night’ stamped on them solely in Tamil, he said. However, due to a shortage of covers arriving from the Central Prison in December 2025, the previous DMK regime issued an emergency order on December 31, 2025, to print 400,000 covers through the Erode District Printing Industrial Co-operative Society. Those covers were brought into public distribution as early as January 2026 during the DMK administration itself, Arunraj said.

Similarly, in Coimbatore, exactly three years ago -- during the DMK administration -- it was officially approved through administrative procedure, printed by the Chinthamani Co-operative Society, and brought into practice again during the DMK regime, he claimed.

Arunraj asked, “What kind of politics is it to permit Hindi during their own regime, create a template for it, release it to patients, and now shift blame onto the ruling party?”

Noting that the government merely procured covers based on warehouse demand and made no changes to the design or language introduced during DMK rule, he said, “This is a disgraceful political tactic by DMK”

“As soon as this issue came to the government’s attention, the use of those pill covers in both Karur and Coimbatore was immediately halted,” he added.

State BJP leader Rama Srinivasan said, “You see in Tamil Nadu no one worries about the quality of the hospitals... Their only problem is prescription cover in which there is one Hindi word. Is this a huge problem?”