New Delhi: Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri on Thursday answered his first question in the Lok Sabha over a year after assuming office.
"Question number 161. A statement A to E is laid on the table of the House," said Alagiri in during Question Hour in Parliament.
His deputy Srikant Jena fielded the supplementary questions raised by members. Jena was seen seeking the permission from his senior colleague before rising to answer the question.
"I am fortunate to have my question listed as the first question of the day and perhaps it is also the first time the minister is replying to a question," said Congress member Charan Das Mahant in an apparent dig at Alagiri.
He repeated the exercise to the second successive question put to him.
Alagiri has kept away from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for most of the time as he is not comfortable speaking in English or Hindi and wants to speak in Tamil.
He had sought permission from Speaker Meira Kumar to reply in Tamil, as he is not fluent in either Hindi or English.
However, senior Lok Sabha officials said that ministers should answer questions either in English or Hindi as files containing the answers to questions are written in English and Hindi.
Finding a way out, the Speaker had told Alagiri that he could answer main question by reading out the reply in English and the supplementary questions could be fielded by Jena.
The Budget session had seen Opposition creating a ruckus in both Houses over the absence of Alagiri and in the Lok Sabha, members did not allow Jena to reply. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj had led the attack complaining over the frequent absence of the minister in the Lok Sabha.
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