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Jitendra Singh surprised the local people by speaking in Tamil, even translating their conversation for the officials accompanying him.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh
During his visit to Lakshadweep last week, Union minister Jitendra Singh surprised the local people by speaking in Tamil, even translating their conversation for the officials accompanying him. Singh was in the Union Territory to review the progress of key ocean technology projects being implemented by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT). When the residents, who mostly speak Malayalam, complained about drinking water issues, Singh spoke in Tamil about the project designed to convert seawater into potable water. “It was such a gratifying moment,” the minister posted on social media with a video of the interaction. The minister, a doctor by profession before he entered politics, learnt Tamil during his student days and while working in Chennai at a government hospital.
Plea for Peace
Days after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited the Iranian embassy in the Capital, former Union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi met Iranian ambassador Mohammad Fathali on Monday and offered condolences on the death of the “Supreme Leader and great spiritual personality” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said war is not a solution to any problem. Peace is essential for the safety of humanity, he said, asserting that India as the land of the Buddha did not like “yuddha (war)”. Naqvi said peace must be restored to ensure the safety of about a crore Indians residing in Iran and other Gulf nations, and underlined that the sovereignty of every country must be respected.
In Lighter Vein
The Makar Dwar of Parliament where MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha meet and greet each other on their way in and out of the building often becomes a spot for interesting conversations, quips and swipes. On Monday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh while coming out of the building stopped on seeing Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Ram Meghwal engaged in a conversation. Ramesh teased the ministers that they should consider inviting former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to the farewell of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh, whose term is ending soon. Rijiju took Ramesh’s swipe playfully and reacted: “It was because of you,” apparently referring to Dhankhar’s unexpected resignation from the post.
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