Sammelana president seeks Sait's ouster as education minister

Writer Chandrasekhar Patil has appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to drop Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait from his Cabinet for his "anti-Kannada" approach. "If he cannot be dropped, at least change his portfolio," he said.

Champa was delivering the presidential speech at the 83rd Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelana which began here on Friday. "Karnataka should lead all the states in India in the fight to make regional languages as medium of instruction. The approach of Sait does not seem to be pro-Kannada.

The chief minister cannot abandon his efforts saying that the prime minister has not replied to his letters. Parliament should bring in changes to the Constitution to make mother tongue the medium of instruction," he said.

"The late education minister H G Govindegowda has set a benchmark. Sait is nowhere in his path. He does not respect the decisions and advice of the experts in meetings of the Kannada Development Authority.

"He has not even followed the instructions of the chief minister in this regard. The Education department should be entrusted to a democratic and pro-Kannada leader," he said.

Sait was absent for the function.

Earlier, writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa, president of the 82nd Sammelana, also expressed his displeasure against Sait. "I had told the chief minister not to accept the imposition of the Central syllabus on states. I had stressed the need for a 'Naada Patya' (state syllabus) like our state song. The chief minister had said that he would ask Education Minister Tanveer Sait to discuss the issue with me. However, Sait has not contacted me so far," he said.