JOIN USHe took a dig at the election of Hema Malini (BJP) to the Rajya Sabha. “The only opportunity to represent Kannada culture is lost.”
Presenting his paper on ‘Horanadu Mathu Horadesha Kannadigaru’ at the convention, he said: “It is a shame. Despite Kannada getting the classical language status, nothing much is happening in the Capital. My request to the people here is: Please send people who can represent Kannada culture, people who can speak about Pampa, Janna, Kumaravyasa, Ranna and Harihara.”
He told the State MPs to take a cue from their counterparts in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, who lobby hard to promote their language. He said: “The MPs of these states come with laptops, the necessary statistics and a battery of IAS officers backing them, to lobby. They are efficient enough to change even the budgetary allocations. But, we are a complete failure.”
Noting that almost all the universities in Delhi, besides prominent varsities in various parts of the country and the world had a Tamil Chair, he said: “We are yet to establish one in Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Milia.”
Bilimale stressed the need to establish a Centre for Kannada Studies and to have an orientation course for all the MPs from the State.