The Centre has neglected the development of languages of different states, and is trying to force the use of Hindi on them, said Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman Prof S G Siddharamaiah said.
Addressing the press at a media awards program at Yadgir on Sunday, he said that by promoting Hindi-English and Hindi-Sanskrit, the Centre is trying to undermine languages native to states.
"When questioned, the Centre points to the mother-tongue policy it has adopted. Let the Central government show us how many states claim Hindi and English as their mother-tongue. The irony is, in the matter of mother-tongues, even the courts too have offered new interpretations", he lamented.
"Whichever the mother-tongue, the language that belongs to the environs and the land must be considered the primary language. The Centre must draft its state policy around this principle and must give state languages priority over other languages", urged Prof. S G Siddharamaiah.
