Overview
- Speaking at the 70th Karnataka Rajyotsava in Bengaluru, M. Siddaramaiah alleged the Union government neglects Kannada and promotes Hindi.
- He said Karnataka contributes about ₹4.5 lakh crore to the Centre yet receives only a small share in return, calling it step-motherly treatment.
- The chief minister argued that English and Hindi are weakening children’s talent and urged a law to make the mother tongue the medium of instruction.
- He claimed grants favor Hindi and Sanskrit over other Indian languages and urged Kannadigas to oppose what he described as anti-Kannada forces.
- He announced state measures to strengthen Kannada, including upgrading 800 Kannada and 100 Urdu schools into Karnataka Public Schools at an estimated ₹2,500 crore, sanctioning ₹483 crore to upgrade 100 Urdu schools, teaching Kannada in 180 madrasas, and preparing the language for the AI era.