Political leaders from South were deprived of opportunities by Hindi politics, claims Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru: Alleging that political leaders from the South were deprived of opportunities by "Hindi politics and discrimination", JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said it has prevented many South Indians from becoming the Prime Minister.
Expressing anguish over CISF officials allegedly asking DMK MP Kanimozhi if "she was an Indian" as she could not speak Hindi, the former Karnataka Chief Minister accused the ruling class of ignoring the south with "disdain."
In a series of tweets, he also raised concerns over Kannadigas allegedly being denied opportunities from getting jobs as for many governments and public sector jobs, one has to write exams either in English or Hindi.
"DMK @arivalayam MP @KanimozhiDMK has been questioned "Are you an Indian?.I raise my voice against the insult meted to sister Kanimozhi.
Now, it is apt to debate how political leaders from the South were snatched of their opportunities by Hindi politics and discrimination (sic)," Kumaraswamy tweeted.
DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday had alleged that a CISF official asked her if "she was an Indian" as she could not speak Hindi, while the paramilitary force ordered an inquiry asserting that it is not its policy to insist upon any particular language.
Stating that Hindi politics has prevented many south Indians from becoming PM, and H D Deve Gowda, Karunanidhi and Kamaraj are prominent among them, he said, though his father Gowda was successful in breaking this barrier, there were several incidents of him being criticised and ridiculed for reasons of language.
"Hindi politics was successful in making the then PM Deve Gowda deliver his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in Hindi.
PM Deve Gowda finally agreed only because of farmers from Bihar & UP. To this extent Hindi politics works in this country," he said in another tweet.
The former chief minister claimed he has also had similar experiences as he was a Lok Sabha member twice.
"The ruling class ignores the South with disdain. I have seen from close quarters on how Hindi politicians manoeuvre. Most of them don't respect non-Hindi politicians," he added.
Gowda was the 11th Prime Minister of India from June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997.
Further noting that apart from politics, for many government and public sector jobs, one has to write exams either in English or Hindi and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is one of them, he claimed there was no place for Kannada in this year's notification.
Kumaraswamy alleged Kannadigas were being denied opportunities for getting jobs and this must stop.
"Centre says Hindi is one of the languages. But it is spending crores of rupees in India and abroad organising programmes to popularise Hindi. This is one of the clandestine programmes. It is possible to fight this only with prompt love and respect for each one's language," he said.
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KSRTC to run 1000 special services to clear Christmas rush
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will operate 1000 additional special services in view of the Christmas festival.
In addition to the existing schedule, the special services will run on 19.12.2025, 20.12.2025 and 24.12.2025. Further, special buses will be operated from various places of intra & Interstate places to Bengaluru on 26.12.2025 & 28.12.2025.
Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bengaluru Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shivamogga, Hassan, Mangaluru, Kundapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubbali, Dharwad, Belagavi, Vijayapura, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Koppala, Yadgir, Bidar, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Hyderabad and other places.
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Special buses from Mysuru Road Bus Station will be exclusively operated towards Mysuru, Hunsur, Piriyapatna, Virajpet, Kushalanagar, Madikeri.
The corporation has also announced a discount of 5 per cent on the fare if four or more passengers book tickets under a single reservation. A discount of 10 per cent will be extended on return journey tickets if onward and return tickets are booked simultaneously.
In addition to the above, special buses will be operated from all Taluk/District Bus Stands in the jurisdiction of KSRTC based on the traffic needs.
