Chitradurga, Oct 12: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said every State should have the right to use its language and if the students want to do exams in it, they should be allowed.

The former AICC president said this while interacting with around 1,800 youths from all over Karnataka on unemployment and related issues here, as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by him.

"A language is much more than simply something you use for conversation. A language has hope, a language has imagination, a language has history in it," Rahul Gandhi said.

He said, "Every State should have the right to use its language, and if the students want to do the exams in that language, they should be allowed to do exams in that language."

Rahul Gandhi's statement comes amid controversy over a Parliamentary Committee's recent recommendation that the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical higher education institutes such as IITs in Hindi-speaking States should be Hindi and in other parts of the country their respective local language. It said the use of English should be optional.

In southern States where Hindi is not spoken as much, several political leaders like former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have expressed objections to the Parliamentary Committee's recommendation and termed it "Hindi imposition."

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru: Major Muslim organisations and federations in Karnataka have decided to organise a large public convention titled ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’ at Town Hall in Bengaluru on May 16. During the convention, a comprehensive report reviewing the three-year performance of the Congress government under the theme “What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?” will be released.

According to a statement issued on Friday, no politicians will be invited to the convention. The report will be submitted to the government and all MLAs after the event.

The convention is being held at a time when the Congress government is nearing the completion of three years in office on May 20. Muslim organisations have expressed dissatisfaction, alleging that despite extending strong support to the Congress in bringing it to power, the community is being neglected.

The Convention is being organised at time when there are concerns over inadequate political representation for Muslims, alleged neglect of community demands, and the suspension of senior Muslim leaders who had worked for the party for decades.

The organisers said the convention aims to raise questions on what the Congress government has delivered so far and what further steps are expected from the government.

The decision to hold the convention was taken during a meeting held on May 6 at A J International Hotel in Shivajinagar, Bengaluru. Representatives of major Muslim organisations, associations, ulema bodies, federations, and members of the ad hoc committee of Karnataka Rajya Muslim Okkoota attended the meeting.

More than 75 representatives and delegates, including senior ulemas, jamaat leaders, lawyers, retired officials, journalists and members of the KRMO ad hoc committee, participated in the discussions.

Members of the KRMO ad hoc committee’s report preparation team and experts from different sectors presented a detailed report on the Congress government’s three-year performance. The report examined promises made to Muslims on ten major issues, the extent to which they were fulfilled, pending promises, alleged discrimination in representation, and the demands now being placed before the government.

The report covered issues such as the hijab ban, reservation cancellation, hate speech and hate crimes, budget allocation, political representation, waqf matters, the anti-cow slaughter law, anti-conversion law, scholarships and educational grants.

Participants offered suggestions and recommendations on various points, and necessary corrections to the report were accepted after detailed discussions.

The meeting also reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Congress government has treated the Muslim community. Participants are said to have opined that if the government and the Congress party continue in the same manner, the community should keep its political options open.

It was later decided that the report would be officially released at the large public convention on May 16 under the title “Karnataka Muslim Convention – What did the Congress government promise? What did it do? What next?”

The organisers appealed to people from all districts of the state to participate in large numbers and send a strong message to the government and the Congress party through the convention.

They also decided that all organisations, jamaats and associations should work towards ensuring participation from every district in Karnataka.

The statement reiterated that no politicians would be invited to the May 16 convention and that the report on the Congress government’s three-year performance would be submitted to the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs after the event.