Vala's Hindi speech causes discomfort to most legislators

Governor Vajubhai Vala’s address in Hindi to the joint session of the legislature left a lot of legislators with blank faces.  

This is the first time that a governor has addressed the joint session in Hindi. Previous governors had read out their government-prepared speech mostly in English and rarely in Kannada. 

While a majority of the legislators were unable to grasp the Hindi speech, some kept pace with the Governor’s address by reading the Kannada and English translations handed out to them. All members also got the Hindi version of the speech.

Dressed in blue half coat, a signature style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vala began his address by saying in Kannada - “Ellarigu namaskara, hosa varshada shubhashaya”. But, he immediately switched to Hindi. But Vala faced problems in pronouncing a few numbers in Hindi and pronounced them in English. The Governor’s speech had a heavy Gujarati accent.

Tara Anuradha, cine actor and BJP MLC, said, “While I was unable to grasp the Hindi address, I could manage with the Kannada version of the speech. Hindi being our national language, there is nothing wrong in addressing the House in that language,” she said.
K B Shanappa, another BJP MLC, said, “Having heard the speech, I would only say that the Governor can deliver one in chaste Hindi.”

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the Governor’s speech in Hindi did cause a few problems to a lot of the legislators who could not understand the language.
“I myself cannot understand or speak Hindi. But the Kannada transcript of the speech was more than enough for me to understand the content. Others who could not follow it relied on the English or Kannada version,” he said.

The side effect

Governor Vajubhai Vala surprised the legislature by breaking a convention. The usual practice is that the Governor enters the Assembly Hall from the left side by greeting the ruling party members. After addressing the session, he leaves the Hall from the right side by greeting the members of the Opposition. But Vala walked in and out from the side where the Opposition members were seated.