The Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed a sharp exchange between Speaker Om Birla and Union Minister for Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri over the use of language while answering a supplementary question.
During the Question Hour, BJP MP from Delhi, Manoj Tiwari, had asked a question about difficulties faced by migrant labourers in Delhi and West Bengal in the absence of Ayushman Bharat cards.
Just when the Minister started replying in English, Mr. Birla requested him to speak in Hindi if possible. “Mr. Speaker, I will reply in Hindi. I can reply in Punjabi if you wish, Manoj ji understands Punjabi....But a direction from the Chair comes on the use of language,” Mr. Puri said as he started speaking in Punjabi.
Mr. Birla intervened and said “You know many languages. You can reply in English as well. That is not a problem.” He added,“If you want to reply in Punjabi, you have to give it to me in writing”.
The Minister went on to say that even though the Ayushman Bharat card doesn’t come under the purview of his Ministry, he could sit with Mr. Tiwari and party leader Nishikant Dubey, who too had a similar query, to work out a solution and press upon upon the Chief Ministers of Delhi and West Bengal to implement them. The Speaker also pointed out that Ayushman Bharat was not Mr. Birla’s subject.
“It’s not my subject but we want to implement it. We have can have a chai per charcha [discussion over tea]. You give directions. You can give directions to the Aam Admi Party or Trinamool Congress to implement it,” Mr. Puri said.
Mr Birla responded by saying, “You are a Minister. We can’t direct any party from here [the Chair]. We can tell Union Ministers”.
