Proposal to confer Rashtrakavi title not dropped, says minister

Women and Child Development Minister Umashree on Monday said the government had not dropped the proposal to appoint a ‘Rashtrakavi’.

A few weeks ago, a 12-member committee headed by litterateur Ko Channabasappa had submitted its report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recommending that the process of honouring a writer with the Rashtrakavi title (bestowed on a person for lifetime) be scrapped, as it went against the spirit of the Constitution, which favoured the abolition of such titles.

“We are studying the recommendation of the committee. A final decision  will be taken after consultation with the chief minister,” Umashree told reporters after visiting the KPCC office here. The last Rashtrakavi of the State was G S Shivarudrappa and the title had not been conferred on anyone since then.

Umashree said the legislators had been consulted while finalising the list of Rajyotsava awards.  A section of the Congress legislators led by S T Somashekar had accused the Kannada and Culture department of sidelining them while finalising the list.

Replying to a query, the minister said she was not in favour of writers returning the awards to protest against intolerance in the country. “They can create awareness and make an impact through their writing and not by returning the awards,” said the minister.

Umashree said the government was in the process of collecting public opinion on trimming the “Nadageethe” (state anthem).