Bengaluru Sept 14: A controversy has erupted in Karnataka in connection with the celebration of Hindi Diwas on Wednesday, with the JD (S) and BJP taking a confrontational position.
Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has written a letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that celebrating Hindi Diwas in will amount to committing injustice to the land.
The BJP has rebutted to his letter, stating that the people of Karnataka are shrewd enough to understand the political motive and they wouldn’t care.
However, the police are taking no chances and have decided to ensure tight security across the state, especially in Bengaluru. Kumaraswamy maintained that the country comprises thousands of languages and sub-languages and it is a great federation of 560 provinces with different social and cultural ethos agreeing to come together.
“On this land giving preferential treatment to one language is an insult to the land. On September 14, a celebration of central government sponsored Hindi Diwas forcefully in Karnataka will be a betrayal to Kannadigas by the ruling BJP,” he said.
He has urged Bommai to not to celebrate Hindu diwas at the expense of the Kannada people. Giving a strong rebuttal to the letter, state Minister for Education B.C. Nagesh stated that Kannada people will not pay any heed to his call, adding that Hindi Diwas has been celebrated since 1949.
The issue has been raked for political gains now, Nagesh said, adding that Kumaraswamy wants to take advantage and politicize everything. If their ideology was that, his father, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, should have removed the celebrations, he stated. Nagesh went on to say that Hindi Diwas celebrations were not introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP, it has been celebrated since 1949. “The BJP government is committed to the development of all regional languages of India,” he said.
