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‘What Sudeepa said is correct’: Karnataka CM, other politicos slam Ajay Devgn
Several activists took to the streets across Bengaluru and other parts to back Sudeep who defended against the imposition of Hindi.
Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai on Thursday joined the chorus of voices — which includes opposition leaders HD Kumaraswamy and DK Shivakumar — supporting Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeepa in a row with Bollywood star Ajay Devgn for the latter’s comment on Hindi being the national language.
Several activists took to the streets across Bengaluru and other parts to back Sudeepa who defended against the imposition of Hindi.
“What Sudeepa has said is correct. After our states were bifurcated based on language, more importance is given to our mother tongues and Sudeep has said the same thing. Everyone should respect this,” Bommai said. Last week, during a movie promotion, Sudeep had stated that Hindi was no more our national language. The actor has starred in films of different languages.
Responding to the same, Devgn had taken to his Twitter and responded in Hindi: “@KichchaSudeep my brother, According to you if Hindi is not out language then why do you release your mother tongue movies by dubbing them in Hindi? Hindi was, is and always will be our mother tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man(sic).”
“And sir @ajaydevgn, I did understand the txt you sent in hindi. Tats only coz we all have respected,loved and learnt hindi. No offense sir,,,but was wondering what’d the situation be if my response was typed in kannada.!! Don’t we too belong to India sir,” Sudeep had replied to the Bollywood actor on Twitter.
“We need to do what is all possible in a constructive manner to nurture Kannada. But there is nothing wrong in learning Hindi when we are giving overemphasis to learn English. Hindi is a communicative language at the national level. The state government is firm in its decision to make Kannada learning mandatory and accordingly the decision has been taken,” Karnataka higher education minister CN Ashwathnarayan said, on Thursday. On April 8, Union home minister Amit Shah while presiding over the 37th Parliamentary Official Language Committee had said that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English in the Indian states, as a unifying language.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the medium of running the government is the official language, and this will definitely increase the importance of Hindi. Now, the time has come to make the official language an important part of the unity of the country,” Shah had said.
The statements courted objections from various sections across the country who accused the Modi-led Central government of imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.
The Karnataka government has also been accused of taking a rudimentary response that “Kannada will remain a priority”, instead of a firm stance. Meanwhile, the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) come down heavily on the statements made by the Bollywood actor. “Just because a large population speaks Hindi, it doesn’t become a national language. Less than nine states, Kashmir-Kanyakumari, have Hindi as second, third language or not even that. This being situation what is the truth in Ajay Devgn’s statement?” HD Kumaraswamy said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah also tweeted: “Hindi was never & will never be our National Language. It is the duty of every Indian to respect linguistic diversity of our country. Each language has its own rich history for its people to be proud of. I am proud to be a Kannadiga!! (sic)”
