Earlier this week, it was reported that the BJP is leaving no stone unturned in its attempts to ensure top leaders visiting TN are ably aided by translators to convey their message to the masses in an efficient, error-free manner. The national party has identified issues endemic to the region and put its team of translators into overdrive – by honing their linguistic skills. There is a good reason too because as seasoned campaigners, they are all too aware of the importance of efficient translation. When leaders hailing from the northern belt, attempt to address public gatherings in the South, there have been some hilarious outcomes.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is no stranger to the pitfalls of poor translation. The leader, who is saddled with a motley crew of interpreters in Kerala and TN, has often become cannon fodder for the troll brigade. Two years ago, during a rally in TN, Gandhi began a speech in English where he said, “...That is why we respect the people of Tamil Nadu.” But, the translator assigned to him got into the spirit of hitting out at the ruling party and translated the line as “Modi is the people’s enemy.”

More recently, V Narayanasamy, the former chief minister of Puducherry found himself amid controversy during Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the Union Territory last month. A fisherwoman who attempted to convey her woes to Gandhi complained about the local government’s lackadaisical attitude in the aftermath of cyclone Nivar. The woman had said, “Did the CM visit us even once during the cyclone?” Narayanaswamy ‘tactfully’ rephrased the woman’s complaint and translated it to Gandhi as, “She said I visited the area after Cyclone Nivar and provided relief to the people.” Social media, needless to say, went for the jugular.

That’s not to say the ruling party has had smooth sailing when it comes to appeasing Tamil voters. Three years ago, BJP party president Amit Shah had spoken in Chennai, aided by his translator, the state BJP functionary H Raja. Referring to the Centre’s allocation to TN on various projects, Shah introduced the concept of micro-irrigation, which Raja translated as siruneer paasanam. The gag factor here was that nunneer paasanam was the right translation whereas Raja’s interpretation was the equivalent of ‘irrigation by urine’. To make things worse, the party’s TN supporters justified Raja’s translation, which added insult to injury.