NEW DELHI: The linguistic diversity of India will be on display in Rajya Sabha from the upcoming monsoon session as members will be able to speak in any of the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
The House will facilitate simultaneous interpretation of five additional languages from this session.
These are Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani, Santhali and Sindhi. The session begins on July 18.
According to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, Chairman M Venkiah Naidu has lived up to his promise of ensuring that members will be able to speak on the floor of the House in any of the Scheduled Language after MPs said that speaking in their mother tongue enabled them to express themselves better.
On Tuesday, Mr Naidu awarded certificates to newly-inducted interpreters who were identified, selected and trained in the House procedures and norms while discharging their duties.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Naidu said that mother tongue was the natural medium for expression.
''In a multi-lingual institution such as the Parliament, members must not feel handicapped or inferior due to language constraints.
''Of the 22 Scheduled Languages, Rajya Sabha has simultaneous interpretation service for 12 languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
For other languages such as Bodo, Maithili, Manipuri, Marathi and Nepali, services of Lok Sabha interpreters are availed by the Upper House.