Cabinet minister Paul Lyngdoh today said there is no question of any imposition of Hindi as an official language even as he defended the Hindi speech by Governor Phagu Chauhan in the Assembly since the English version of the speech was circulated to all members.
Speaking to media persons here today, Lyngdoh said that constitutionally Hindi is the official language of the country and not the national language.
“If you go to the Rule of Conduct of Business of the State Assembly it is very clear that a member can make a submission in his mother tongue provided that same copy of the speech is made available to the Speaker which is as per the rules of the House,” Lyngdoh said, adding that he would have preferred an address in a language that he can totally understand.
Lyngdoh however said, “Reading is far better because you can internalise all points of the speech better than listening to the language which I couldn’t have understood.”
He further added that the English version of the Governor’s speech was placed on every member’s table and what Chauhan delivered was an abbreviated version and he did not give the entire speech which was covered in the written text.
When asked if the Centre should appoint a Governor who can speak in English, Lyngdoh said that he can comment on this only if he becomes a parliamentarian.
