Sitharaman reprimands TMC MP for objecting to her Hindi speech during debate on cess bill in Lok Sabha

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit out at TMC MP Saugata Roy for objecting to him speaking in Hindi on a bill, pointing out that translation technology allows members to listen to the speech in any language.

Roy, speaking in the Lok Sabha about the Health Security to National Security Cess Bill, said he had difficulty following the minister’s earlier speech in Hindi on it.

He said, “Nirmala ji also spoke in Hindi. I could not follow what he said because we are Bengalis; We don’t follow Hindi that much.

Chairperson Jagdambika Pal immediately informed that the proceedings of the House are available in many languages. He told Roy, “It is already on the Parliament app; You can see it.”

The TMC MP replied, “We are Bengalis, and we will remain Bengalis,” to which Pal cautioned him.

Pal said, “You are Bengali, but you cannot speak Hindi like this.”

Intervening in the debate, Sitharaman expressed strong objection to Roy’s remarks. “I can speak in Hindi, I can speak in Tamil, I can speak in Telugu, I can speak in English. What difference does it make to the honorable member?” He asked the question.

Pointing to the translation system available in the House, he said, “Because of the arrangements made by the Speaker, he can get translation in any language he wants. And what is this… I spoke in Hindi, so (he) can’t understand?” The minister suggested that Roy was trying to divert attention from the bill.

“He has not read the bill completely and because he wants to divert attention from the subject, he is bringing all these things. I have an objection and this should be on record,” he said.

Introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said it aims to create a “dedicated and predictable resource flow” for two areas of national importance – health and national security.