Committed to protecting Kannada, people, says CM Siddaramaiah

Mandya: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the state government is committed to protecting the interests of both Kannada and the people of Karnataka. 

He was delivering the inaugural speech of the three-day 87th Akhila Bharatha Kannada Sahitya Sammelana, organised by Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) here on Friday.

“While Karnataka gives more than Rs 4.5 lakh crore in the form of taxes, we get only Rs 55,000 crore from the Centre. While the Centre is imposing more tax on the people, it is giving sops to corporates. So, we implemented the five guarantees, to empower the common people,” he said.   

Siddaramaiah said, “At a time when the world has become a global village, it is a big challenge to protect our identity. Language can live and grow when we use it. We have given priority to education in Kannada medium. We have adopted a comprehensive Kannada language usage policy in administration and made use of Kannada mandatory in administration.”

“Over the last two years, we have spent Rs 506 crore for the cause of Kannada. The creation of a Kannada literary database is in progress. Kannada should be sovereign in Karnataka. We should not speak to outsiders in their language, but inspire them to learn Kannada. But, we should translate the world’s classics and science books into Kannada, to enrich our language,” he said. 

Siddaramaiah said, “If the imposition of Hindi is not opposed, our identity will be lost. Besides, we vehemently oppose those who are involved in changing or diluting the Constitution. We are fighting against such forces, as they will divide and destroy the society.”

“The Sammelana should provide solutions to the problems of the people and the society in Karnataka,” the CM said.