Bengaluru, 20 June

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday urged people to take pride in speaking their mother tongue and said it is the responsibility of every Kannadiga to protect Kannada, land and water. He noted that people living in State should learn Kannada and stressed the need to create a "Kannada atmosphere".

Speaking after performing 'bhoomi pooja' for the construction of a 25-feet-tall bronze statue of Nada Devi Bhuvaneshwari on the premises of Vidhana Soudha here, he said speaking our mother tongue should be a matter of pride.

"A vow must be made that no language other than Kannada is spoken in the state. Kannadigas are generous. That is why there is an environment in Karnataka where even those who speak other languages can live without learning Kannada. The same situation cannot be seen in Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala. They speak only in their mother tongue," he pointed out.

Calling on Kannadigas to speak in their mother tongue, Siddaramaiah said there is no need to feel inferior about it.

Asking people living in Karnataka to learn Kannada, he said, "For that, all the people living here should learn Kannada. We cannot remain silent like that. Kannadigas are not insolents. But love for Kannada should be developed."

"We should not become like the bigots in other states. But we should develop respect and admiration for our language, land and country," he said. -PTI