Hubballi: Contrary to the stand adopted by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy with regard to introducing English medium in government schools, head of the ruling coalition’s co-ordination committee Siddaramaiah said that primary education should be provided only in Kannada as the acquisition of knowledge is possible only when one learns it in the mother tongue.
Expressing his support for the opinion expressed by several literateurs that primary education should be nationalized, the former CM said the Centre should amend the Constitution if necessary to protect the interests of regional languages. Stating that he has already written letter to the prime minister to convene a meeting of all CMs to discuss the issue, Siddaramaiah lamented that the Central government has not initiated any measure in this regard.
“Parents should decide in which language their children should study. Litterateurs should convene a meeting to discuss the issue and I will raise my voice in their favour. It is not right to go against the collective opinion of the people who think that the primary education should be in the regional language. I will speak to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to apprise him about this”, said Siddaramaiah during the three-day Akhil Bharat Kannada Sahitya Sammelan that concluded in Dharwad on Sunday.
Asserting that the coalition government is committed to protect the interests of Kannada, he said it has the responsibility to implement the resolutions passed by the Kannada meet. Recalling his involvement in the Gokak movement and farmers agitations, he claimed that he had made an honest effort for the development of Kannada during his tenure as CM. He also asserted that the Centre cannot impose Hindi language on people in a federal system. “The regional languages can be developed only if the Centre and state government work in proper co-ordination. I had opposed the Centre’s move to put Hindi nameplates in Metro station in Bengaluru. I also fortunate to have worked as the first president of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti, a watchdog committee, for implementation of Kannada as the official language”, he added.
