Hubballi: A day after the inauguration of the 84th Akhil Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelan in Dharwad, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy hit out at eminent Kannada writer Chandrashekar Patil, popularly known as Champa, for opposing his decision to introduce English medium in government schools from the next academic year.
Mr Patil seems to have touched a raw nerve by claiming the Siddaramaiah government had more love for Kannada than the present administration in his speech at the sammelan.
He had also advised the Chief Minister not to axe the “growing tree of the Kannada language.”
Indicating that he was being hypocritical, Mr Kumaraswamy asked the litterateur to reveal what school his grandchildren were studying in and advised him not to cross his limits.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, he said the writer had no business questioning his “regional party’s” love for the language and admitted he had resisted taking him on at the sammelan itself. “I did not want to lower myself to the level of such litterateurs,” he remarked angrily.
“Patil said I am not following the coalition dharma. They (litterateurs) should not cross their limits. They are older than I am and I invite them to hold a free discussion on introducing English medium in government schools. Let them pass a resolution at the meet for closure of all private schools!” Mr Kumaraswamy suggested.
Responding to the CM, Mr Patil said he had only one grandson and he had done his primary education in a Kannada medium school in Bengaluru and urged him to verify this through his intelligence sources. Underlining that he had no personal differences with Mr Kumaraswamy, Mr Patil said he would gain a prized position in Indian history if primary and pre-primary education were nationalised. “I have only given my advice as a writer. It is the son of the soil, who should protect our language. If we look at regional parties in the country, they are committed to protecting the interests of their respective states as national parties don’t have this on their agenda,” he added.
