Bengaluru: NaMo does things his way, always. On the occasion of Makar Sankranti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wished the people a good harvest festival. What is normally done in Hindi and English, was done this time in several different regional languages, but he skipped Kannada!!
The harvest festival in the state is popularly known as Sankranti and Pongal while the nomenclature is different in other states – Uttarayan in Gujarat, Maghi in Punjab and Bhogali Bihu in Assam.
The ruling Congress called it an intentional act” the BJP attempted damage control stating that it was an “error in communication”.
The wishes of the Prime Minister was published on the website of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) — the nodal agency that communicates the central government’s decisions to the public.
The PIB release said, “The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conveyed heartfelt greetings to fellow countrymen and women on the occasion of various festivals across the nation.” Further, “The festive spirit across India is gladdening. It celebrates the diversity of India that we cherish and are extremely proud of,” was published in other regional languages of the country using the original script.
While the PM chose to refer to Makara Sankranti as Pongal, Uttarayan, Bhogi and Magh Bihu as it is known by people in different states, there is no reference of either Karnataka or Kannada in the PIB’s communication. The PM’s wishes have been given out in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Assamese, while ignoring Kannada where people also celebrate Makara Sankranti with great fervour.
Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Chairperson of Kannada Development Authority (KDA), like all Kannadigas was upset and urged all Kannadigas to take note of the Union government’s step-motherly attitude towards Kannada and Karnataka.
Dr Hanumanthaiah told a Bangalore daily that it only demonstrates that BJP as a party does not believe in a multicultural and multilingual society. When the Prime Minister of the country has chosen to wish fellow citizens in other regional languages, he should have done it in all 24 languages recognised under Section 9 of the Indian Constitution. What the PM has done is an unpardonable mistake and all Kannadigas must take note of this and protest against the Prime Minister.
Dr Hanumanthaiah went further criticizing the ad campaign on the ‘Swachha Bharat’ programme. He told the daily, “ All the hoardings in the heart of Bengaluru have been put up in Hindi and looks like the Union government is enforcing Hindi and thereby affecting the diversity of the country”.
The Congress joined issue too. MLC V S Ugrappa was of the opinion that a the PM’s decision to leave out Kannada indicated the seriousness of the BJP is in developing Karnataka and their intentions towards Karnataka and Kannadigas.
Ugrappa was critical of the PMO’s actions on the greeting. He opined that it was intentional, especially when the PM had wished the people in other regional languages and skipped kannada.
He criticized the ministers who represent Karnataka for not having taken the initiative to correct the mistake a the PMO level. He expressed unhappiness that “we do not see any minister with the capability to influence PMO officials and issue a statement in Kannada”.
However the BJP leader and former CM Jagadish Shettar called it a mistake and promised to bring it to the notice for correction, which was duly done.
