Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
By IndiaFM/Bollywoodhungama.com [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis issued an apology in the legislature after a Gujarati translation audio of Governor C.V. Rao speech was played on 26th February.

Fadnavis himself called it a ‘serious issue’. The incident took place a day before the Marathi Language Day on the opening day of Maharashtra legislature’s Budget session. Governor Rao got up to make his speech before the joint sitting of the members of the assembly and council. The speech was rendered in English, but the translation heard on the headphones was in Gujarati and not Marathi.

This came as an embarrassment for the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, while the opposition Congress made a ruckus about the issue. The opposition made it an issue that was supposed to be a serious matter. The main opposition then proceeded to walk out refusing to hear the rest of the Governor’s speech. Education minister Vinod Tawde insisted that following the mishap he went to the control room to personally look into the matter. He read out the speech in Marathi. But it is still not certain whether this was a technical error or something else.

Fadnavis said, “It is indeed a grave mistake. This is indeed a serious matter. I am requesting the HonourableSpeaker to look into this immediately and take stringent action against those responsible. In fact, if possible by this evening, they should be shunted home. I also hereby unconditionally apologise for this.

Fadnavis also delivered his apology to smooth over matters. He implored that Speaker Haribhau Bagade finds the people responsible for the happening and also punish them accordingly. This has been dubbed an unprecedented event in the state’s history. Coincidentally it occurred before Marathi Language Day, celebrated as a commemoration of the birth anniversary of the renowned litterateur and Padma Bhushan awardee, V.V. Shirwadkar. The day is celebrated to promote the state’s official language. If this was indeed a planned event in the assembly, one would think April Fools Day came early this year.

By Sahitya