New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule stoked a recurring debate on the opening day of the monsoon session of the parliament when she once again protested against Sansad TV’s new practice of superimposing Hindi voiceovers in speeches made in English and regional languages. On Monday, Sule said on X, “Sansad TV began the alarming practice of replacing the speeches of MPs in English or regional languages with Hindi voice-overs in the first session of this Lok Sabha, and it has continued doing so in the Budget Session on the television broadcast.”“This is a form of censorship – it denies crores of non-Hindi speaking Indians the right to hear their elected representatives’ original words in their own languages. The government must immediately discontinue this discriminatory and anti-federal move,” she added. Sansad TV began the alarming practice of replacing the speeches of MPs in English or regional languages with Hindi voice-overs in the first session of this Lok Sabha, and it has continued doing so in the Budget Session on the television broadcast. This is a form of censorship—it…— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) July 22, 2024The controversy over Sansad TV’s new practice blew up first in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha in June, soon after the Lok Sabha elections. The official broadcaster of parliamentary proceedings began to mute the original audio of MPs speaking in languages other than Hindi and used Hindi voiceovers that made criticisms of the opposition leaders sound frigid and undemonstrative. The unilateral decision taken without consultations brought Sansad TV under heavy criticism by the opposition leaders who likened its move to a violation of federal principles. Many MPs also attacked the Narendra Modi government, which has often come under the scanner for alleged imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. In early July, towards the end of the first session, Sule had drawn attention to the new practice and had urged the Union government to refrain from such “unethical tactics”. She had called the Hindi voiceovers “deeply problematic” and said that the “autocratic” practice denied elected MPs to be heard in their chosen language. She added that such moves “undermine democratic and constitutional principles and gags the voice of the people of India.”It has been observed that Sansad TV is now translating the Speech of MP’s in English, into Hindi while muting the original audio. This new practice is deeply problematic, as it suppresses the MP’s voice, denies elected members the right to be heard in their chosen language, and…— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) July 1, 2024Both the Union government and the Sansad TV officials have not responded to such criticisms, although the voices in the opposition are only getting stronger against the superimposing of Hindi voiceovers. Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur MP from the Congress, Sasikanth Senthil, told the media that such a practice will only ensure that a majority of MPs from the opposition who do not speak in Hindu feel stifled, and only emboldens the government’s alleged tactic of not showing or inadequately showing opposition voices in the parliament. He also alleged that there is also a possibility of incorrect or poor translation in such voiceovers. “You have to show what is happening in the House, the sense of the House. I am also alleging that they might not even be translating the right stuff. If anybody could do a micro analysis, I am sure they must be taking a lot of sting out of what the MP is saying, that is also quite possible since nobody is keeping track,” he told South First.He further said, “The very reason we are speaking in the English language is because people in our constituency do not understand Hindi. So why put a voice over our speech?”Similarly, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP from Kerala’s Kollam told the news portal that the move indirectly imposed Hindi to create a Hindi hegemony in India. “It is really an insult to the people of South India because Sansad TV belongs to the whole parliament which has members belonging to the South also. This is absolute discrimination to non-Hindi speaking people. We will take this matter up with the Speaker and what Sansad TV is doing is not acceptable,” he added.The matter assumes significance in a context where a large number of opposition leaders in non-Hindi speaking states, especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala, have lashed out at the Union government and its ministries for publicly supporting Hindi as the most prominent official language of India over the last decade. The Sansad TV’s new practice has thus been seen as an alleged blow to “linguistic federalism”.