After Santhali, now Konkani makes debut in Rajya Sabha

Konkani made its debut in Parliament for the first time since its inception in 1952 with BJP MP Vinay Dinu Tendulkar, speaking in his mother tongue in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while raising the issue of allowing 'Dhirio' (bull fight) in Goa.

As Tendulkar spoke in Konkani, simultaneous interpretation in English was provided by 21-year-old Delhi University student Ms. Sriya Rane. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu complimented both Tendulkar and Rane for their efforts.

During Zero Hour, Tendulkar demanded that 'Dhirio', which is similar to Jallikatu in Tamil Nadu and Kambala in Karnataka.

After assuming office, Naidu had assured that necessary measures will be taken to enable the MPs to speak in any of the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, saying that speaking in mother tongue enables better expression of thoughts.

Rane was empanelled as consultant interpreter under a new scheme for different languages in Rajya Sabha, who is not a regular employee of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Rajya Sabha has also employed contractual interpreters for Santhali, Konkani, Dogri, Kashmir and Sindhi.

On December 6 last year, Santhali language reverberated in Rajya Sabha for the first time with BJD MP Sarojini Hembram demanding Bharat Ratna for Raghunath Murmu, the inventor of the 'Ol Chiki', the script used in Santhali language.

Then the interpretation from Santhali to Hindi was done by Priti Priya Marandi, who is pursuing her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University.