SHILLONG: Few can probably fault their chaste Hindi, but visiting Union ministers who are more comfortable with the language are able to make little impact on their audience in the state with their speeches and lectures mainly enunciating the Centre’s policies and programmes.
The recent two instances involved Union Minister for Human Resource and Development Ramesh Pokhriyal, who delivered his nearly 20-minute long speech in Hindi on Tuesday, and Union minister of state for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare P Rupala, who spoke during his visit to ICAR to review the progress of the implementation of Soil Health Card scheme on Wednesday.
Rupala had around 200 local farmers for his audience. There were two Masters of Ceremony who spoke in English and Hindi, but that didn’t help matters much. All that the audience knew was they were attending a programme on Soil Health Card.
The minister spoke for around 15 minutes in pure Hindi explaining the benefits of the Soil Health Card, but the beneficiaries could fathom little of what he conveyed.
A local beneficiary said that she could not understand a word of what the minister said adding it is the same whenever some Union minister comes.
“There should be a translator so that things could be explained to us in local language or else how will we understand a discussion on such important topics,” another beneficiary said.
While admitting that a visiting minister cannot be expected to speak in the local dialect, the beneficiary added that the organisers of such programmes should arrange for translators so that the message is understood and the people benefit.
Speaking to this reporter on condition of anonymity, an official said that their job is to just gather a crowd whenever a minister comes.
The official also said that the people who attend the programmes are given travelling allowances. “They are paid TA of minimum Rs 100,” the official said.
