No more ‘maiden speech’: Vanathi

Speaker appepts MLA’s request

BJP legislator Vanathi Srinivasan urged the Assembly on Wednesday to do away with the practice of referring to the first speech of a newly elected member as “maiden speech”. She said if an MLA was speaking for the first time in the House, it could be termed as “first [debut] speech” or “introductory speech”. The usage of “maiden speech” (kanni pechu in Tamil) can be avoided in the future, she said. The word kanni means a spinster, and so a better word can be used for such speeches, she said.