Bharatiya Janata Party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu has urged the Union Government to complete the pending formalities required to accord the classical language status to Kannada.
He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath's artists' convention centre here on Sunday.
Mr. Naidu said that the Centre had been deliberately delaying the matter.
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The Madras High Court had only admitted a writ petition on the issue of according classical status to Kannada and had not issued a stay order.
Speaking on the importance of developing and showcasing art and culture, Mr. Naidu promised to release another Rs. 25 lakh for the centre before the end of the month from the MPs Local Area Development Fund.
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Welcoming the gathering, the administrative officer of the parishat, M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, said that Mr. Naidu had released Rs. 25 lakh for the long-pending project in October 2009. Besides, the MP representing Bangalore city in the Lok Sabha, P.C. Mohan, had also released Rs. 5 lakh from the fund.
Minister for Transport R. Ashok announced that he would also release Rs. 5 lakh for the project from the MLAs LAD fund.