'Centre neglecting Kannada, imposing Hindi: Siddaramaiah’s Karnataka Rajyotsava day attack

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticized the Union government for neglecting Kannada and imposing Hindi, urging state unity against anti-Kannada forces.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday accused the Union government of neglecting the Kannada language and imposing Hindi, urging people of the state to unite against what he called “anti-Kannada forces.”

The chief minister also alleged that Kannada and other regional languages were being sidelined in favour of Hindi and Sanskrit. (HT_PRINT)

Speaking at the Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the Centre was showing “step-motherly treatment” towards Karnataka despite the state’s significant contribution to the national economy.

“The federal government is meting out step-motherly treatment to Karnataka,” he said, adding that the state generates around ₹4.5 lakh crore in revenue for the Centre but receives only a fraction of that amount in return.

The chief minister also alleged that Kannada and other regional languages were being sidelined in favour of Hindi and Sanskrit. “There are continuous attempts to impose Hindi. Grants are given for the development of Hindi and Sanskrit, while other Indian languages are neglected,” he said.

Emphasising the importance of nurturing Kannada in education, the chief minister said that the decline of mother-tongue learning was harming the state’s younger generation. “Children in developed nations think, learn, and dream in their mother tongue. But here, English and Hindi are weakening the talent of our children,” he said.

Siddaramaiah called for legislative measures to make the mother tongue the medium of instruction in schools. “There is a need to bring in laws to introduce the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. The Centre should pay heed in this direction,” he added.

(With agency inputs)