 had threatened not to be part of the Governor's Address in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly if it is delivered in Hindi without an English translation.){kind=link}
SHILLONG:
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on Friday, asked the Opposition political parties to focus on issues concerning the state in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly, which will commence on February 16.
His statement came after the opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) had threatened not to be part of the Governor’s Address in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly if it is delivered in Hindi without an English translation.
Sangma said, “Making it an issue is I think is unnecessary. Many people have spoken in different languages as I said, so the individual concerned about our Governor has limitations and therefore he is speaking in Hindi, there is nothing wrong with that.”
“(Moreover), we are very clear that the rules are there and the rules allow anybody to speak provided they provide a copy of the speech in English and that is being done. Therefore, there is no issue. We are following the rules as per the requirement,” he said while adding that the Assembly Speaker had informed about making provisions either through artificial intelligence or through some kind of a translator to allow people to listen to the speech in English also.
The CM also said that he does not understand the issue, which the VPP is trying to bring up in regard to the Governor’s Address. He however reminded them that what is more important is the content in the Governor’s speech and more importantly the discussion in the House.
“What is more important in a democracy and more important in legislation is the debates that take place, the discussions that take place that is what we are meeting for and it would be more meaningful if the members would focus on those issues that are important for the state. We (the government) are ready to discuss and debate on various issues and we have always been positive in terms of recommendations and solutions given even if it comes from opposition. If I find that there’s something that’s good, I don’t ever hesitate to accommodate and to ensure,” he asserted.