With the Lok Sabha 2024 elections just four months away, the division between the INDIA alliance was quite visible. Reports suggest during the recent INDIA alliance meeting on Tuesday (December 19) in Delhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar got into a heated exchange with Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader TR Baalu when the leader asked for an English translation of Kumar's Hindi speech.
Following reports, DMK leader TR Baalu requested an English translation of the Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar's speech, delivered in Hindi in the three-long meeting of the INDIA alliance, prompting the JDU president to lose his cool. According to reports, Nitish Kumar asserted that Hindi is the national language and everyone should be able to understand it.
Reports suggest that in the past three meetings, Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K Jha served as a translator, delivering speeches in English for both Kumar and his own party. At Tuesday's meeting, after Kumar's speech ended, Baalu asked Jha to translate his speech into English, which triggered Kumar. Before Jha could begin, frustrated Kumar claimed that Hindi is the national language and everyone should be able to understand it, according to reports. Kumar's outburst continued for a few more minutes, detailing the Indian freedom struggle against the British and the imposition of English, as per reports.
Reacting to the heat, many leaders intervened and asked annoyed Kumar to calm down. JDU chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's speech was also not translated to calm the environment.
When Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge opened the discussion, the first speaker was DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, followed by Nitish Kumar. To avoid further clashes, leaders switched to English, who generally speak in Hindi after Kumar's outburst, including Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
