The polyglot in chief minister J. Jayalalithaa came to the fore in the Assembly Friday as she spoke in Telugu to make Congress legislator from Hosur K. Gopinath comfortable.

Mr Gopinath was finding it tough to convey his thoughts in Tamil and switched to Telugu, his mother tongue, midway through his speech to convey grievances of linguistic minorities in the state.

Realising his discomfiture, Ms Jayalalithaa asked him in Telugu, “What are your demands? Tell us.”
Mr Gopinath thanked CM for speaking in Telugu and urged her to safeguard interests of linguistic minorities. Ms Jayalalithaa said she would protect all languages. n More on p4