MLA called out for speaking Marathi

Belagavi: BJP legislator Vittalrao Halgekar created a flutter by speaking in Marathi language inside the Assembly on Friday.

Halgekar, Khanapur MLA, demanded that the state government must recruit Marathi teachers in anganwadis and Marathi medium schools by shunning politics over language in the state.

His demand met with resistance from ruling and BJP members alike asking him to speak in Kannada language.

While struggling to make his case in Kannada, Halgekar said that the state government must consider his demand with eyes of sympathy instead of political prism. "Politics over language is not doing any good to our (Marathi-speaking) kids. We want teachers in Marathi medium schools," he asserted.

Intervening at this juncture, Speaker U T Khader insisted that being legislator of this state must know to speak in Kannada which is the official language of this state. "It is not right on the part of legislators of this state to make their case in another language instead of Kannada. So, learn Kannada," he said.