Kannada & culture department issues notice to Bengaluru Metro over language row

The row began after a Congress legislator pointed out the absence of Kannada script on the banners, cut outs and other props during the event which was largely in English

Days after the Opposition raised the issue, the Kannada and culture department on Wednesday issued a notice to Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for sidelining the regional language during the inauguration of the new stretch of Metro on Sunday.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai also spoke largely in English at Sunday’s event, drawing the Opposition’s criticism. (File photo)

The row began after a Congress legislator pointed out the absence of Kannada script on the banners, cut outs and other props during the event which was largely in English.

V Sunil Kumar, the minister for energy, Kannada and culture, on Wednesday said overlooking Kannada during the event was a “serious issue” and will not be “tolerated”.

“Day before yesterday, the government took notice of how Kannada was ignored during the event to inaugurate the Metro rail towards Kengeri. Despite Kannada being declared as the official language, some officials have been derelict and this will not be tolerated,” he said.

Former Congress chief and AICC in-charge of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao first raised the issue by accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of neglecting Kannada to “please the Centre”.

“It is a shame for Karnataka to ignore Kannada in our Metro inauguration programme on the Kengeri Purple route. It is impossible to tolerate sidelining of Kannada in a government programme. Our Metro project is a central and state partnership project. So why should Kannada not be a priority?” Rao said in a post on Twitter on Sunday.

The event was inaugurated by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union minister for housing & urban affairs, petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep S Puri.

At the event, Bommai also spoke in English mostly, which the BJP defended by saying that Puri did not understand Kannada. They reasoned that Bommai communicated with the minister in a language he understood, keeping the interest of the state in mind.

Language strikes an emotional chord in Karnataka which, like several other non-Hindi speaking states, nurses a feeling of neglect for its native tongue under the current government.

The Congress and other regional outfits have accused the union government of pursuing ‘one-nation, one-language’ policy as a way to make Hindi a common tongue as part of its larger Hindutva agenda.