Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, who hails from Tamil Nadu and is married into a Telugu family in Andhra Pradesh, sought the chair's permission to reply in Tamil to a supplementary posed by AIADMK member T Radhakrishnan.
The member raised the the matter of Chinese crackers being brought illegally into India harming the domestic industry in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu that virtually caters to the entire demand of firecrackers in the country.
He referred to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha's letters to the Centre in this regard and wanted to know what action has been taken.
