Kathmandu, July 29 - The battle over the use of Hindi for official work, that has pitted southern Nepal against the rest of the country, escalated Wednesday with embattled Vice President Parmananda Jha appealing to the nation to put fraternity and harmony above emotion.

The 65-year-old former Supreme Court judge, who became republican Nepal's first vice president last year, made the appeal after rumours began circulating that he would be resigning to protest a court ruling that ordered him to take his oath of office and secrecy again, this time in Nepali.

The language furore started last year after Jha took his oath of office in Hindi.

It was not an isolated incident. Before him, newly elected members of parliament from the Terai plains had also taken their oaths in the same language.

With Nepal being declared a federal republic, MPs from other indigenous communities also took their oaths in their mother tongues.

However, an ultra-nationalistic lawyer, Balkrishna Neupane, filed a writ in court, saying since the vice president was a non-political figure, Jha should represent the entire country and not one community.

The lawyer urged Nepal's Supreme Court to declare the Hindi oath unconstitutional and order Jha to take oath in Nepali.

Last week, in a stunningly quick decision, the two judges hearing the case, including Nepal's Chief Justice Man Bahadur Rayamajhi, ruled that the Hindi oath was unconstitutional and invalid.

The apex court also ordered the vice president to be sworn in again in Nepali.

Jha Wednesday called the verdict biased and vengeful.

What adds credence to his reaction is that though the verdict was announced Friday, the court conveyed it to his office only Tuesday.

And even before the vice president had the time to go through the ruling, two persons slapped a fresh writ against him in court, saying he had shown contempt of court by neither taking the oath again nor resigning.