BENGALURU: With the announcement of a new Karnataka Sanskrit University campus to be built in Magadi, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson A N Nataraj Gowda, among other Kannada activists, have slammed the decision.
Around 100 acres of land had been allotted for the campus with allegedly as much Rs 359 crore being allocated for its construction. Plans had been in place to construct the campus from as far back as 2011 with the land allocation approved only last week.
Twitter has been inundated with tweets from the hashtag #saynotosankrit over the weekend, with many voicing their disapproval for the new campus being built.
KPCC spokesperson Nataraj Gowda pointed out that while the university had been allocated such a large sum for its campus, the state government apparently has no money to pay the Rs 2 crore allocated for the Kannada University in Hampi.
However, KPCC has not made an official statement regarding the issue. "Nataraj Gowda has made the statement as an individual and is not speaking for the party as a whole, we have not issued any kind of formal opposition to the issue," said Tyagaraj P, KPCC's press secretary.
Dissent has also come from the Popular Front of India (PFI) as well, with PFI Karnataka State President Yasir Hasan noted that the imposition of Sanskrit/Hindi in the state was a sign of upper-class domination.
“Instead of setting up a campus for 3 percent of the population, the government should implement the revival of Kannada schools that have been deprived of basic facilities,” he said.