Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday condemned the efforts to undermine freedom of expression under the pretext of patriotism and nationalism.
Speaking after inaugurating the 83rd Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelan at Maharaja’s College Grounds here, he said he was a firm believer in freedom of expression and added that literature, music, painting and media are all different faces of it. But, of late, there have been efforts to repress this freedom in the name of patriotism, religious devotion and nationalism, which he said was condemnable. Democracy can only be strengthened through freedom of expression, he added.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also invoked poet laureate Kuvempu while referring to the federal structure of the Constitution and said the States enjoyed the right to protect their respective region’s interests in terms of their crops, industries, economy, literature and culture. If the State’s rights are frustrated, the very meaning and purpose of the country’s freedom will be defeated, he added.
