JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has written a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday, September 12 urging his government not to celebrate 'Hindi Diwas' by utilising the taxpayers' money. The former Chief Minister said that forcibly celebrating Hindi Diwas, which happens to be on September 14, would amount to "injustice" to the people of Karnataka.
"Celebrating the Union government-sponsored Hindi Diwas programme on September 14, forcibly in Karnataka, will be an injustice to Kannadigas by the state government. I urge that for no reason Karnataka government should celebrate Hindi Diwas by utilising the state's taxpayers' money," Kumaraswamy said in his letter.
Noting that thousands of languages and dialects, over 560 princely states, and diverse social and cultural practices make India a "great union", he said, "In such a land, celebrating one particular language is injustice..."
Earlier, Kumaraswamy had opposed the Hindi Diwas celebrations, stating that it holds no meaning for those whose mother tongue is not Hindi, and demanded it be scrapped. There was a large-scale social media outrage, also protests by pro-Kannada organisations to Hindi Diwas last year, calling it "imposition of Hindi”.
Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy on Monday said the 2023 Assembly election is like a "trial by fire" for his party, and its outcome will have a bearing on its political future for the next 20-25 years. The former Chief Minister was responding to a question regarding his son and JD(S) youth wing chief Nikhil Kumaraswamy's recent statement purportedly indicating that the upcoming Assembly election will be the last for the party.
"I myself have said several times that the 2023 Assembly election is like a trial by fire for the JD(S) and the outcome of this election will have a bearing on the party's political future for the next 20-25 years; so this election is important - this is what Nikhil Kumaraswamy has said," he told reporters.
Kumaraswamy said, "We both have discussed it several times that the 2023 election is a big challenge before us and if anything undesirable happens it will bear consequences on the party's future, so it should be taken as a challenge and a strong foundation should be laid for the party with a new structure for the next 25 years. His (Nikhil) statement was in that context and there was no need to attach any other meaning to it.”
Addressing a gathering of party workers in Tumakuru recently, Nikhil, while speaking about his grandfather and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's age and not being seen much in public for the last two-three months, creating confusion among party men, said, "I want to say Deve Gowda will live for hundreds of years to be with us, but this 2023 polls in a way is the last election for us, take it that way.” However, he further said, from here on a new chapter should start for the JD(S) for the next 25 years.
JD(S) has set a target of winning at least 123 of the total 224 seats that will go for polls by March-April next year, and aims to form an independent government this time. The party had earlier formed governments in coalition with both BJP and Congress respectively for 20 months from January 2006 and for 14 months from May 2018, with Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister.