Apart from English & Hindi, Alagiri lacking in basic courtesy

NEW DELHI: Union chemicals and fertilisers minister M K Alagiri, who has skipped Parliament and remained absent at Cabinet meetings ostensibly due to his problems with Hindi and English, appears to be in no hurry to change things.

The DMK leader had some time back appraised Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar about his language problem and sought permission to answer questions in Tamil. However, despite Ms Kumar’s invitation to him to discuss the matter over a month ago, Mr Alagiri has failed to meet her.

“If you want something, then you have to ask for it. The Speaker wanted the meeting with Mr Alagiri, but he hasn’t come back,” a source in Parliament said.

The incident is now being seen as an affront to the Speaker. It was Mr Alagiri who initiated debate over the issue by reportedly writing twice to the Speaker about his problems. Ms Kumar then invited the DMK leader to meet her before the winter session of Parliament began.

However, he did not turn up for the meeting. Mr Alagiri was hardly seen in Parliament during Winter Session and even remained absent during a discussion in Lok Sabha on the shortage of seeds and fertilisers. He is perhaps the first Cabinet minister who has reportedly empowered, in writing, his junior minister, Srikant Jena, to answer questions in Parliament.

The Opposition has raised the issue of Mr Alagiri’s absence on more than one occasion. Even Ms Kumar herself had said that she was still awaiting a response from Mr Alagiri to her invitation for a discussion.
The problem over speaking in Tamil in Parliament arises as Article 120 of Constitution recognises only English and Hindi as official languages in Parliament.

Mr Alagiri has not been able to get an interpreter for Tamil, a demand of which has found backing from Tamil Nadu’s Opposition AIADMK as well.

With the issue having taken on hues of language politics, Mr Alagiri’s insistence on being allowed to speak in Tamil in Parliament has become an issue of pride for him and by extension, the DMK. However, another reason why Mr Alagiri could find it convenient to continue being an elusive figure on the national political stage has to do with the power struggle within the DMK.

By keeping his involvement in national politics to a minimum, Mr Alagiri has sent out the message that he cannot be counted out of the succession race when his father, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister, M Karunanidhi, retires. Meanwhile, he has continued to focus on the party in Southern Tamil Nadu and has reportedly expressed a desire to return to state politics several times.