BENGALURU: The Congress government has done a disservice to children by scrapping Hindi as the third language. This decision was not taken out of love for Kannada, it is purely politics, Opposition Leader R Ashoka told reporters here on Monday. He said the Education department suddenly removed Hindi as the third language, and the decision was taken when students are in the middle of writing their examinations. Lakhs of students have been preparing for the Hindi exam, and such a decision has created a big problem, he added.
In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi was president of the Hindi Prachar Samiti, and started this committee in South India as well. Congress leaders, who are unaware of this history, have suddenly scrapped Hindi. It is an insult to Gandhi. We must be sensitive when it comes to matters concerning children, students who were expecting to score high marks with Hindi are disappointed by the government’s decision, Ashoka said.
When the Modi government removed Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the MNREGA scheme, Congress leaders had created a huge uproar but now no one is speaking up. The country’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru had brought the three-language formula. Later, Indira Gandhi gave it even more importance. But the Congress says that whatever is done in Tamil Nadu, will be implement here, he said.
If Kannada children study IAS and IPS and go to Hindi-speaking states, what language will they speak there? This decision has been taken only out of anger against PM Narendra Modi. This is nothing but vote-bank politics. In the future, BJP will implement the National Education Policy, which includes options for languages, he said.
BJP will win the Davanagere and Bagalkot by-elections. In Davanagere, Muslims are against Congress. In Bagalkot also, people are against Congress. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scared of losing his chair, and is personally going for campaigning. Minister Zameer is not campaigning. Even DK Shivakumar is living in fear, Ashoka said.
Late Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa had said he would give the ticket to a Muslim, but now the ticket has been given to a family member. The government is taking loans every year but poor people are not getting any benefits, he added.