M C Kamaruddin, the newly elected MLA from Manjeshwar in Kasargod district, took oath in Kannada in the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Monday.
It has been a tradition with MLAs from Manjeshwar to take oath in Kannada, considering the sizable number of Kannada-speaking people in the constituency, which is close to Karnataka, said Kamaruddin, who represents the Indian Union Muslim League.
The first-time MLA, who took oath in the name of God, said that his development agenda included welfare of the linguistic minorities of Manjeshwar, those speaking Tulu and Urdu among others. Manjeshwar is referred to as the land of seven languages - Malayalam, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Marathi, Urdu and Beary.
Kamaruddin said though taking oath in Kannada would please the Kannada-speaking people of his constituency, those speaking other languages might not feel bad about it, as people of Manjeshwar generally love all languages.
Many MLAs from Manjeshwar, including former minister Cherkulam Abdullah, had taken oath in Kerala Assembly in Kannada, while MLAs from Devikulam in Idukki, close to Tamil Nadu, used to take oath in Tamil in the Kerala Assembly.
Apart from Kamaruddin, four other first-time MLAs took oath on Monday. It included two from CPM and two from Congress.
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