BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of spreading a false narrative that the State Government was neglecting Kannada and giving more funds to Urdu. This is not just far from the truth, it is a deliberate attempt to create communal tension, the Chief Minister said.
Siddaramaiah said that for 2025-26, the State Government has allocated Rs 34,438 crore to the Department of Primary and Secondary Education and Rs 4,150 crore to schools under the Social Welfare and other departments.
“A total of Rs 38,688 crore, all meant for Kannada-medium education. In addition, Rs 999.3 crore has been set aside to maintain government schools and improve infrastructure,” he said, adding that all this money supports Kannada education. “So when BJP claims that only Rs 32 crore is given to Kannada, it is clearly a political lie meant to mislead the people,” Siddaramaiah added.
“As for the Rs 100 crore given under the Minority Welfare Department - this is for upgrading Urdu-medium schools with better classrooms, teachers, textbooks, and infrastructure. This is not just for language, but for the overall improvement of schools that serve a large number of students,” the CM elaborated.
Siddaramaiah said that linking a language to a particular caste or religion is disrespectful to that language. “Our government respects all languages spoken in Karnataka. That is why we have separate academies for Tulu, Konkani, Kodava, Byari, and Arebhashe - each with Rs 80 lakh grants every year, plus extra funding for cultural activities,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said that they will never compromise on protecting land, water, or language and will never tolerate disrespect towards our culture. He demanded that theBJP immediately issue a public clarification and apologise to the people of the state for this “dangerous and divisive propaganda”.
Meanwhile, Minister Eshwar B Khandre on Tuesday called the BJP’s allegations baseless. He said that Urdu is not a foreign language to the people of Karnataka, especially those residing in Kalyana Karnataka.
“It was also spoken by many freedom fighters from the region. Allocating Rs 100 crore for developmental works is no harm. The BJP is creating a controversy by mixing it with Kannada language board and development works,” Khandre said, adding that the BJP is known for “spreading false news”.