Patil taking language lessons to spruce up his Hindi

SANGLI: Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil, who had drawn severe flak in 2008 for his statement downplaying the magnitude of 26/11 terror attacks, has admitted that he suffered on account of his poor knowledge of Hindi.

"I suffered because of weak Hindi. Now I am taking tuitions in Hindi, English and Urdu," he said.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone of 'Ideal English School', run by the Ideal Education Society, in his hometown Tasgaon, recently.

"People like me are educated in Marathi medium schools. But now the world is changing. Our kids must learn other languages too. Everyone should be proud of their mother tongue, but that is not enough. Children in rural parts should be well acquainted with English too," Patil said.

"Like me, one should not face problems because of lack of communication skills," he said.

Patil in 2008, when asked at a press conference whether the terror strike was an intelligence failure, had said in Hindi: "Aisa nahi hai. Itne bade shahar mein chhota hadsa ho jata hai. (Its not like that. In big cities, small incidents do happen.)"