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Kurien slams critics within Congress for translation goof-up during Rahul speech
In a letter to Gandhi on May 1, Kurien alleged the feedback monitor that enables a translator to hear the speech was removed from the stage by someone within the party, and demanded a police or a party inquiry into the matter.
Former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson PJ Kurien has blamed his detractors in the Congress for the goof-ups in translating party chief Rahul Gandhi’s election speech at Pathanamthitta in Kerala on April 16.
In a letter to Gandhi on May 1, a copy of which is with HT, Kurien alleged the feedback monitor that enables a translator to hear the speech was removed from the stage by someone within the party, and demanded a police or a party inquiry into the matter.
“The problem in Pathanamthitta was that I could not properly hear your speech since the feedback monitor was not placed on the stage,” he wrote in the letter. “The question arises as to who removed the feedback monitor from the stage or who is responsible for not placing it on stage. It could be the handiwork of my detractors in the party.”
After the rally, a video showing Kurien unable to hear Gandhi, who had to repeat words back to him, surfaced on social media, and was widely shared by political rivals mocking the Congress.
Kurien also mentioned in the letter that he has translated speeches of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi at Pathanamthitta and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Kottayam without any difficulty, and cited similar problems faced by a translator Jyothi Vijayakumar and legislator VD Satheesan in translating the party chief’s speeches in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi respectively.
The former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson urged Gandhi to order a probe into the entire matter.
“It is my request that you may direct KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) president to get the matter enquired through our party machinery or if necessary by the police department,” Kurien said.
Kerala Congress spokesperson Pandalam Sudhakaran dismissed any sabotage on the part of the state unit. “There was no such issue,” he said.
