Lauding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s 2013 budget as development oriented and inclusive, Jnanpith awardee U R Ananthamurthy, however, had a word of advice for the CM.
He wanted Siddaramaiah to emulate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and make himself easily accessible to the people.
He was speaking at a function organised to release ‘Budget 2013, a debate’, a book which is a compilation of views of several Kannada writers on the budget here on Monday.
Ananthamurthy, a strong critic of Narendra Modi, said: “You should ensure that more people can reach you. Modi has been doing this.
There are complaints that there is difficulty in getting access to the Chief Minister. This can be addressed by creating your own email ID and using it actively to respond to people.”
He also said he wanted Siddaramaiah to focus more on economic measures to generate employment.
Chief Minister Siddarmaiah’s budget is not a ‘backward’ budget, but the government should put more efforts to create jobs.
“Unemployment is a harsh reality for many youngsters in our state.
“We need to work towards a scenario where youngsters are able to get a job after their matriculation. Industries offering such opportunity should be set up in the state,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of teaching Kannada to children.
“Teaching Kannada should be made compulsory in schools. Students should be taught to speak fluently in English, but students should also know Kannada,” he said.