MPs praise VP Naidu for concluding translation of presidential address with Tamil words

Two Tamil words spoken by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday, while concluding his translation in English of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to MPs, won him applause from a section of lawmakers from Tamil Nadu.

After reading out a few paragraphs in English of the president's address at a joint session of the two houses, Naidu concluded with Tamil words “Nandri Vanakkam" meaning ‘Thank you all.’

After the session was over, all the nine Rajya Sabha members of the AIADMK visited Naidu's office and thanked him for saying the Tamil words, the upper house secretariat said in a statement.

President Kovind addressed the joint sitting on the first day of the Budget Session.

"The AIADMK members of Rajya Sabha appreciated Naidu for his gesture of speaking in Tamil. They also thanked Naidu for tweeting a picture of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami working in the filed like an ordinary farmer," according to the statement.

In a tweet last week, Naidu said the chief minister working in fields was an indication of his commitment to his roots and everyone should focus on making agriculture profitable and sustainable.

After becoming the vice president, Naidu has been focussing on promoting the use of mother tongue and even ensured simultaneous interpretation facility for all the 22 scheduled languages for members of Rajya Sabha to speak in their respective languages, the statement added.