The language controversy erupted with full fury in the Lok Sabha to-day [June 15, New Delhi], virtually paralysing the proceedings of the House for 15 minutes. The Speaker, Mr. N. Sanjiva Reddi, combined humour with firmness to restore the order in the House. The controversy started when the S.S.P. member from Mysore, Mr. J.H. Patel, sought to put a question in Kannada on the utility of the proposed revolving tower restaurant at the State-owned Ashoka Hotel in the capital. He was allowed to put the question in his language, but when the Minister could not reply and the member insisted on an answer there was trouble. A colleague of his from Mysore, Mr. Lakkappa, offered to translate it for the benefit of the House but he was not permitted to do so. Several members holding strong views on the language question including the D.M.K. member, Mr. Krishnamurti, insisted on a reply and thereby sought to highlight the difficulties arising from the absence of a simultaneous translation arrangement in the House for all languages. While calling for order, the Speaker at one stage commented, “The difficulty is it is a revolving tower and we must be careful.” Mr. Reddi appealed to all sides of the House to help in making the proceedings of the House smooth and not let matters get out of control. “The dignity of the House and of all of you is involved”, he said. His appeal came after a renewed spell of trouble caused by the remarks of the Swatantra member, Mr. Piloo Mody, to the effect that Mr. Patel was not interested in an answer to his question but only in his language.
