Minister slams DMK MP for objecting to Sanskrit translation in Lok Sabha, lauds Om Birla's curt reply

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said indulging in divisive politics was the real waste of taxpayers' money.

Updated on: Feb 11, 2025, 23:15:15 IST

By HT News Desk

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Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday slammed DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran for criticising including Sanskrit among the languages in which simultaneous translation of Lok Sabha proceedings will be provided. He said in a post on X that the MP's "unwarranted" remarks revealed DMK's selective outrage.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Dayanidhi Maran speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI photo/Sansad TV)

Dayanidhi Maran said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that taxpayers' money was being wasted by providing simultaneous interpretation of Lok Sabha proceedings in Sanskrit due to the RSS ideology.

Pradhan said indulging in divisive politics was the real waste of taxpayers' money.

"Dayanidhi Maran's unwarranted remarks on Sanskrit are not only in bad taste but also reveal DMK's selective outrage, hypocrisy and propaganda when it comes to India's linguistic heritage. Indulging in divisive politics is the real waste of taxpayers' money," he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chided Maran for the remark.

"In which country are you living in? This is India. India's primary language has been Sanskrit," Birla said.

Pradhan praised Birla for confronting the former minister and "aptly rebuking this attempt to simmer hate and create false binaries between Indian languages".

Also read: Dayanidhi Maran calls Annamalai 'joker' and says he won't take his words back

What happened in Lok Sabha?

Om Birla announced after the Question Hour that six more languages -- Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri, Sanskrit and Urdu --have been included in the list of languages in which simultaneous interpretation was available for members.

He said besides English and Hindi, simultaneous interpretation is available in Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

After the announcement, DMK members raised slogans. When Birla asked what the problem was, Maran said he had objections to Sanskrit interpretation as it was "not communicable".

Om Birla slammed Maran for the objections.

"This is Bharat and its primary language has been Sanskrit. I said 22 languages, not Sanskrit alone. Why do you object to Sanskrit? There are 22 recognised languages in Parliament. Simultaneous interpretation will take place in Hindi as well as Sanskrit," he asserted.

With inputs from PTI

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