'Speak impeccable Tamil' vs 'have my own style': Grammar jibes set off row in TN assembly

A political controversy erupted in the Tamil Nadu assembly following criticism of the finance minister's language skills during his budget speech. MDMK MLA T M Rajendran accused TVK minister N Marie Wilson of using excessive English and making grammatical errors in his speech. Several opposition members joined in criticizing Wilson's use of English, while defending his communication style.

Wilson, a long-time government official, defended his approach, emphasizing the focus on governance and development rather than linguistic formality. He stated that he had spent 25-30 years in the education sector and primarily communicated in English during his career. The controversy took an unexpected turn when opposition leaders began defending Wilson against the criticism, and Tamil Nadu's Speaker J C D Prabhakar stepped in to mediate, emphasizing the Assembly's rule permitting speakers in multiple languages.