Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to direct the department in the Union Ministry concerned for according of classical language status to Kannada.
In a letter to Dr. Singh on Thursday, the Chief Minister said: “I respectfully submit that the mere fact that a notice has been ordered in a writ petition before the High Court does not constitute a valid ground and should not come in the way of operationalising the classical status given to the Kannada language. I need not emphasise the fact that people of Karnataka in general and Kannada literary persons in particular are very much agitated about the delay in implementation of classical status given to Kannada language.”
He said it is already more than one and a half years after the Centre accorded classical language status to Kannada. Till now, no steps have been taken to constitute the Standing Finance Committee for operationalising the classical status of Kannada Language. It is stated that the notification to constitute a standing finance committee is subject to the disposal of a writ petition pending before the High Court of Judicature at Madras . “I have ascertained the correct position of the aforesaid writ petition. Only notice has been issued to the respondents and not even rule-nisi has been issued in the said writ petition. Nothing has happened thereafter. A photo copy of the certified copy order sheet in the above writ petition issued on February one is enclosed herewith.”
Mr. Yeddyurappa said therefore, there was no reason for not constituting a Standing Finance Committee for operationalising the classical status given to Kannada language as not even rule-nisi has been issued in the aforesaid writ petition and it may take several years before it is taken up by the Madras High Court.