While chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to promote Kannada, stakeholders urged the to prevail upon the Centre to accord Official Language status toKannadaand other regional languages on a par withHindiand English.
The activists revived their demand of official status to all 23 scheduled languages in the central government administration through a constitutional amendment. They want a resolution passed in the legislature.
Meanwhile, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) is preparing a draft of the Samagra Kannada Bhasha Masoode (Comprehensive Kannada Language Bill) envisaging a single-window agency to implement Kannada in the state administration and frame common rules for promoting it, including signages in public places and commercial establishments.
Article 343 of the Constitution states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi along with English and theyre now being used for official purposes by the central government. Language activists want it to be amended to accommodate all scheduled languages, including Kannada. They want Article 351, which says its the duty of the Union Government to promote Hindi, to be repealed.