Karnataka’s Chandra Arya was elected to the Canadian Parliament. The 52-year-old decided to address the parliament in his mother tongue Kannada.
Kannada in Canadian Parliament
Chandra Arya is one of the 19 Indian-Canadians elected to the Canadian parliament this year. Arya is the son of retired Commercial Tax Assistant Commissioner K Govinda Iyer.
While speaking for the first time in the Canadian Parliament, Chandra decided to address the parliament in his native language. He said in Kannada, “Honorable Speaker, I am delighted to get an opportunity to speak in my mother tongue, that is Kannada, in the Parliament of Canada. It is a matter of pride for 5 crore Kannadigas that a person from Sira taluk of Tumkur district in Karnataka, India, has been elected as a Member of Parliament for Canada.”
“Kannadigas of Canada celebrated Kannada Rajyotsava in 2018. I am finishing this speech with a few lines written by Mahakavi Kuvempu and sung by Dr. Raj. ‘Elladaru iru enthadaru iru endendigu nee kannada vagiru’, he concludes.
What did that accomplish? I fail to understand the purpose of this theatrics.
— vasu (@vasu36454233) May 19, 2022
Canada elections
Chandra has been active in the Indo-Canada-Ottawa Business Chamber, Indo-Canadian Community Centre, and Hindu Society of Ottawa as well.
The elections to the Candian Parliament were carried on October 19 and Chandrakanth defeated Andy Wang from the Conservative Party by 10,000 votes, said reports. Canada’s Liberal party won the election with Justin Trudeau coming in as the country’s new prime minister.
Hailing from Tumkur, the 52-year-old campaigned successfully for Justin Trudeau and was also elected. People in his hometown and villages nearby hailed his victory. Youth leaders from Dwaralu, Gajjeerahalli, Tavarekere, Lakshmisagara, and Bhoovanahalli were happy about his winning and being elected to the Canadian parliament.
The 52-year-old studied engineering at Bangalore University and then did his MBA at Dharwad’s Karnatak University. Before he settled in Canada, Chandra had worked with DRDO in Delhi and Karnataka State Financial Corporation.
