Basavaraj Bommai backs actor Sudeep over his comment on Hindi

Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said just because a large population speaks Hindi, it does not become the national language

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday backed actor Sudeep over his comment that Hindi is not India’s national language.

Karnataka chief minister. (PTI)

This came after Bollywood star Ajay Devgn responded to Sudeep in Hindi on Twitter and said: “Hindi was, is, and always will be our mother tongue and national language.”

Sudeep said he understood what the Bollywood star wrote as they have respected, loved, and learnt Hindi. “...but was wondering what’d the situation be if my response was typed in kannada.!! Don’t we too belong to India sir.”

Hindi is among the languages included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, which grants it official status.

“What Sudeep has said is correct. After our states were bifurcated based on language. There is more importance given to our mother tongues and Sudeep has said the same thing. Everyone should respect this,” Bommai said.

Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said just because a large population speaks Hindi, it does not become the national language. He criticised Devgn for blabbering as a mouthpiece of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindi nationalism.

Activists separately took to the streets in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka to back Sudeep over his opposition to the imposition of Hindi.

The fresh controversy comes days after Union home minister Amit Shah on April 8 said Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English as a unifying language.