Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman replies in Tamil in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: Perhaps for the first time in the Lok Sabha, a minister spoke in Tamil to respond to a question put in Tamil.

Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, who hails from Tamil Nadu and is married into a Telugu family in Andhra Pradesh, sought the chair's permission to reply in Tamil to a supplementary posed by AIADMK member T Radhakrishnan.

The member raised the the matter of Chinese crackers being brought illegally into India harming the domestic industry in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu that virtually caters to the entire demand of firecrackers in the country.

He referred to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha's letters to the Centre in this regard and wanted to know what action has been taken.

"The letter sent by revolutionary leader amma (an honorific used by AIADMK cadre for Jayalalitha) has been received. Necessary action will be taken in response," she said as members of the treasury benches thumped the desks. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was occupying a front row seat, was seen smiling.