Members press for declaring Tulu as second official language; Speaker and MLA interact in Tulu

Members press for declaring Tulu as second official language; Speaker and MLA interact in Tulu

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, July 19, 2023: The Legislative Assembly on Tuesday witnessed some lighter moments when Speaker U.T. Khader and Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai interacted in Tulu for some time. They were stopped by some members, who said that the Assembly Secretariat did not understand Tulu and would find it difficult to record the interaction.

 

This happened when the MLA demanded that the State should declare Tulu as the second official language in Karnataka. Pointing out that over one crore people speak Tulu in the State, Mr. Rai said both the Centre and State have set up Tulu academies. “Some entrance exams for admission to universities in the U.S. have also recognised Tulu as one of the 17 Indian languages in which exams can be written. The State should declare this language as the second official language,” he asserted.

Intervening, the Speaker also supported the member’s demand and said the State should consider this. Responding, Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadi assured the House that a decision on declaring Tulu as the second official language in the State will be taken after seeking the opinion of the departments concerned.

“A committee headed by Mohan Alva, set up to examine the feasibility of declaring Tulu as the second official language, has submitted its report a few months ago. The committee has said that we should take the opinion of the departments concerned. We will take a call on the issue after that,” the Minister said.

When BJP member Vedavyas Kamath pointed out that a legal NOC had already been taken and the government should not delay any longer, the Speaker intervened and said: “The committee’s report was submitted in February. Why did your government not take a call on it in March and April?”

Courtesy: The Hindu