Question in Tamil, reply in Hindi:Heated exchanges in Lok Sabha between Opposition, treasury benches
New Delhi, Feb 10: A question asked in Tamil triggered heated exchanges in Lok Sabha on Wednesday between the Opposition and Treasury benches that spilled over to the issue of ministers giving replies in Hindi.
It all started during Question Hour, with DMK member A Ganeshamurthi asking a supplementary question about FDI inflow in Tamil and Union minister Piyush Goyal saying that he missed the first part in Tamil and wanted to know which project was he referring to.
"If I ask a question in English, then the ministers should respond in English only... a member asks a question in Tamil and the minister replies in Hindi," the member remarked and Goyal responded by saying that he can answer in Hindi while the translation is available for the member.
Some opposition members shouted as they also apparently sought to raise the issue of ministers replying in Hindi to questions asked in English. In recent times, there have been instances in the House when opposition members, especially from southern states, have protested against such a trend.
Speaker Om Birla asked Ganeshamurthi to repeat the question and the member asked the same in Tamil.
A visibly peeved Goyal asked the Chair for a ruling on whether there is any rule that a question asked in a language should be replied to in the same language.
"I will give the reply in Hindi... I also listened to the translation (of the question that was asked in Tamil)," the minister said.
As Ganeshamurthi again raised the issue, Birla smiled and asked the member to put on the headphones. Birla, who generally speaks Hindi in the House, spoke in English, saying please member address to the Chair... no problem".
When it was the member's turn to ask the second supplementary question, he said he will ask in Tamil only and raised the question.
And Goyal gave the reply in Hindi.
Last week, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who were also former party colleagues, sparred over the minister replying to English questions in Hindi.
While responding to supplementary questions asked by members from Tamil Nadu in English, the civil aviation minister had replied in Hindi.
Soon after, Tharoor had commented that it was an "apmaan (insult) that the minister was responding in Hindi.
Scindia had then responded that it was strange for the member to make such a comment.
Immediately after Tharoor made the remarks, Speaker Birla had said, "Ye apmaan nahi hain (this is not an insult)."
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Instagram removes BJP’s post claiming Cong ‘will snatch wealth of non-muslims’ following backlash
New Delhi: An animated video post shared on BJP’s official Instagram handle, asserting that the Congress party would snatch wealth from non-Muslims to ‘distribute it to its favorite community of invaders,’ has sparked significant backlash. Following the uproar, the photo sharing platform has taken down the post, reports Newslaundry.com.
Meanwhile, it is uncertain whether the post was removed by the BJP or by Instagram following mass reporting by several users as “misinformation” and “hate speech”. The video depicted Rahul Gandhi holding the Congress manifesto which transforms into the logo of the Muslim league. Furthermore, it sought support for PM Modi from every ‘Bharatiya,’ who is also shown wearing a saffron turban.
According to the report, it also contained a clip of PM Modi alleging that the former PM Manmohan Singh had said, “Muslims have the first claim on our resources,” insinuating that if the Congress were to assume power, it would confiscate the money and assets of non-Muslims, redistributing them to Muslims, whom it favored. Labeling Muslims as ‘infiltrators’, the video depicted historical invaders as looters who plundered India's resources and suggested that the Congress party continues to empower individuals from the same community.
The video then communicated that the Congress party’s manifesto is “nothing but Muslim league’s ideology in disguise. If you are a non-Muslim, Congress will snatch your wealth and distribute it to Muslims.” It also slinged the BJP’s official slogan ‘abki baar, 400 paar,’ and called that it was the need of the hour, since Modi only has the “strength to stop the Congress party’s evil plans.”
Similar claims have also been made by several BJP leaders. Recently, Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that the Congress intends to “Give your children's property to Muslims.”
