New Delhi, June 30: Members of Parliament will no longer have to depend on English or Hindi translations in Parliament and can listen to proceedings in their own languages in the new Parliament building if a plan mooted by Lok Sabha secretariat is implemented.
The idea, pitched by Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, will not only lead to the promotion of Indian languages in Parliament but also make it convenient for MPs.
On June 28, Lok Sabha secretariat issued a circular on Realtime two-way interpretation facility (simultaneous interpretation) in all 22 languages in Schedule 8 of the Constitution of India” and invited employees of the Lok Sabha secretariat to test out the plan in two regional languages, Kannada and Telugu. In the new system, translators will in real time, interpret all important proceedings such as the budget announcements, debate on bills or the discussion on the President’s speech in 22 languages for the MPs.
Notably, in the existing system, any member who wants to speak in a language other than Hindi and English is encouraged to give prior notice to the Presiding officer of the House to help the secretariat arrange an interpreter in advance.
“Members of some states, especially from South India, like to speak in their own language. It’s not that they don’t know Hindi or English, but speaking in their mother tongue helps them connect better with their constituency back home. It might be especially useful as the Lok Sabha distributes video clippings of the speeches to the MPs,” said P Sreedharan, former secretary general of the Lok Sabha.
