Umashree trying to shift Classical Kannada Centre: MP

Member of Parliament from Mysore-Kodagu Prathap Simha has blamed Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree for trying to shift Centre for Studies and Excellence in Classical Kannada in Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) from Mysore to Bangalore.

Addressing media here on Monday, he said that the Classical Kannada Centre should stay in Mysore which is the cultural capital of the State.

“I will speak to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other ministers and will also petition them to ensure that the centre stays in Mysore. I will also review various problems faced by the CIIL and ensure that all facilities are available to develop the centre in the city,” he said.

Contract workers

As many as 135 contract employees of the CIIL submitted a memorandum to the MP, seeking re-appointment to the CIIL.

They complained that following the appointment of  new director to the CIIL, 135 personnel with 10-12 years of experience were terminated. “Since most of the employees cannot avail jobs in any other institute, our contracts should be renewed,” they said.

The employees said that CIIL Director Awadesh Kumar Misra was pursuing anti-labour policies.

“After our contract was terminated, new employees were appointed for projects sanctioned to the institute. Even though we had applied for the posts, none of our
applications were considered,” the employees complained. Simha said that he had discussed the issue with Misra.

“I will communicate the issue to the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The dispute will be sorted out after Dasara,” he said.