Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi on Tuesday expressed disappointment over meagre funds released for research and development of Kannada after it was declared as a classical language.
What Hindi gets
Speaking in the Legislative Council on Tuesday during the discussion on the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024, that was later passed unanimously, the Minister said that while Hindi received ₹ 1,000 crore, Kannada received a meagre ₹3 crore for research. “There has been grave injustice in this issue. Let there be discussion on it,” he said. When the Leader of the Opposition Kota Srinivas Poojary suggested that this discussion should be taking place in Parliament, the Minister pointed out that there were 25 BJP members of Parliament.
The Bill seeks to mandate 60% usage of Kannada in signboards displayed by commercial establishments across the State. The Bill had been earlier passed by the Legislative Assembly. “The establishment violating the norm will lose its trade licence during renewal. Penalty will also be imposed. An enforcement wing will be set up to monitor the implementation,. A mobile app will be developed to enable citizens to lodge complaints,” Mr. Tangadagi said.
Job reservation
Meanwhile, on the issue of job reservation to Kannadigas, the Minister said that every industry will be asked to display a dashboard that would provide details on total jobs in the industry and and jobs given to Kannadigas as well as non-Kannadigas.
