Centre will not impose Hindi: D V Sadananda Gowda

Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Monday said the Centre would not impose Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states, including Karnataka.

“The Centre has not yet taken any decision on the draft National Education Policy, 2019. No decision to impose Hindi will be taken. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made it amply clear that regional languages and issues will be given priority,” he told reporters.

On southern states, including Karnataka, stiffly opposing the proposed policy, Gowda said it was not fair to blindly criticise the Centre. “It was being done for political gains,” he added.

Language policy

Meanwhile, Joining the chorus against a move to impose Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states, former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah said any decision to impose any language would not be tolerated. “Kannada is the main language in Karnataka. Efforts to impose Hindi in the name of three-language formula will not be tolerated. We will not compromise on the issues of language, land and water. Elected representatives should rise above party lines and think about it,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.

State Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao slammed the Modi government on the issue. “Imposition of Hindi by the Narendra Modi government in the pretext of introducing one language and culture is condemnable. The Modi government should stop behaving like the government of Hindi speaking people,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi has said that Hindi is national language and it is needed to connect with other states. In Belagavi, he said, “I could not have spoken in parliament if I did not know Hindi. Along with Kannada, we have to learn other languages also.”

In Mysuru, state government coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah accused Union government of trying to impose Hindi language forcefully. “Three language policy is unnecessary. Kannada and English are being taught in the schools and Hindi should not be a mandatory. We will never compromise when it comes to land, language and water issues,” he said and also threatened to launch a agitation if the Union force to implement Hindi.